The Girl in the Prophecy
by JadiexGurl
Summary: "Wait, wait, wait. Hold the phone. You think I'm the one in the prophecy?" Ariana Thorne is your average quirky, rebellious teenager that stumbles into Middle Earth after a terrible hit to her head. After she realizes that she isn't in her modern world anymore, learning about a quest to reclaim a lost homeland and finding out about a prophecy... Not much could surprise her anymore.
1. Are we in Russia?

**_Hello! Recently I've been really into The Hobbit because my mother is making me read the book, which led me to watching the movies. I instantly fell in love with Kili, so I was like 'Hey, why not make a story?' and you can guess where that led me. _**

**_I'm mainly going by the first movie then switching to the book afterwards. I will be adding a few parts from the second movie into it because it would spice it up! _**

**_I do not own anything!~_**

* * *

Pounding waves of pain throb in my head that nearly made me groan. I cannot remember when I had such a terrible headache. Rubbing my temple to attempt to cease the pain, I slowly sat up. Despite the pounding in my head there was one question that swam around in my jumbled thoughts. What happened that made my head hurt so much?

Perhaps I had fallen off my bed again considering how much I move around in my sleep. Maybe that's it? No. From the bright lights underneath my eyelids to the faint sounds of birds chirping it all means that I'm outside. Why in the world would I be sleeping outside? Perhaps it was because I stormed out of my argument with mum. Oh god. Rage fueled me at the thought of mum. How dare she do that-

"Are you feeling alright, Miss?"

A deep voice effectively cut me off of my furious thoughts and smothering my anger. My eyes snapped open only to squint from the bright light that fueled my headache further. Cursing under my breath about the pain, I turned to who spoke to me. It was a man. Not just any man, but a freakishly tall man that wore a pointed hat. His appearance was completed with a long white beard and a strange staff. Who in the world wears pointed hats nowadays?

Still stunned from his sudden appearance, I quickly stammered out a reply, "Miss? Miss as in myself? Were you talking to me?"

Apparently my reply was amusing as he let out a chuckle, "Yes, I was talking to you. Now, back to my original question, are you feeling alright?"

"Uh, yeah why?" I asked feeling stupid now. I pushed back the throbbing pain in my head to focus on the strange man in front of me.

"You appeared to be in pain earlier. Does your head hurt, Miss?" It astonished me how this one elderly yet strange man was concerned for a girl her doesn't even know. Wow.

"It's only a headache. I'll live." I shrugged my shoulders carefully, "My name's Ariana. You could call me that instead of Miss because that's weird."

A smile lit up his aged face as he continued to stare at my sitting form, "Very well. Now, Ariana, why are you all the way out here in the middle of the field?"

That question made my eyes wander around me. My eyebrows furrowed together at the sight of the unfamiliar field around me. The grass was untamely high and had brightly colored flowers popping out everywhere. It was beautiful but strange. "Uh, I don't know. Where are we, Mister?"

"The name is Gandalf. Gandalf the Grey. Surely you have heard of me." The elderly man, Gandalf told me. He continued his reply after seeing me shake my head. "Well, Ariana, you are in Hobbiton."

I simply stared at him. Hobbiton. Where in the world is that? "Is that in Russia?"

Now it was Gandalf's turn to furrow his eyebrows together in confusion, "No. I apologize but I have never heard of a place called Russia."

"Is Hobbiton in South America?" Was I in some different continent?

"I'm afraid not. Hobbiton is in the Shire." Where the hell is the Shire?

"I have never heard of a place called the Shire. I'm familiar with places in North America, Australia and Europe. The Shire isn't in any of those places. Where are we?" Exasperated, I threw up my hands in frustration. I was fairly decent in knowing the places around the world. I have never known of a place called the Shire in my entire life. A frown pulled at my lips as I stared heavily at Gandalf.

Gandalf stared intensely at me, which caused me to shift in my spot. What had I said that made him get so deep in his thoughts? My eyes wandered around to avoid eye contact. How awkward was this? "We are in Middle Earth."

I paid no mind to his carefully chosen words and stared baffled at this man. "Middle Earth?"

"Where did you say you were from again, Ariana?" Gandalf asked with his intense blue eyes. Never in my entire life had someone stare at me with such intense eyes as if they were trying to figure me out. It was quite nerve-wrecking. I shook my head slightly and stared at him oddly while ignoring my headache. "I haven't said where I was from, but I'm from Lakefield. Not anywhere remotely close from here. It's actually not even in Middle Earth."

"Yes, but you are not from Middle Earth?"

This guy is seriously giving me the creeps. "Yes, why?"

"My, the prophecy has begun." Gandalf stated with a serious and mystic tone. I continued to frown at the man and began to fiddle with the grass around me. A pleased smile grew upon his face as he composed his posture. "Follow me!"

* * *

**_Just a quick chapter to briefly introduce our main character: Ariana! _**

**_Like it? Hate it? Lemme know in a review!~_**


	2. Hold the phone!

Staring at his retreating back, I couldn't help the baffled expression on my face. What just happened? First he tells me that I'm in Middle Earth, secondly he tells me about a prophecy and thirdly he tells me to follow him! All without explanations. Frustration grows within me as I frown heavily at him. Heaving myself to my feet, I rush to catch up to his fast paced walk.

"Woah, woah, woah! You can't just walk away without any explanations at all! Can you tell me how to get home? Or rather how I got here in the first place? What prophecy are you talking about? Oh my god, can you please slow down?" I exclaimed in frustration as I jogged to keep up with him. Now that I stood beside him, I realized how tall he actually was! I had to crane my neck all the way upwards to stare at him properly.

"All will be explained in due time, Miss Ariana." That was all he said!

My lips pursued together in irritation that he continued to call me by Miss. "Where are we going?"

Gandalf glanced down at me before glancing up to the setting sun, "We are headed to a dear friend of mine for dinner. There will be quite the company there. Now I must warn you that some of them are quite a curious bunch and that you must leave the talking to me."

Huffing at the brief answers I was getting from the freakishly tall man, I gazed around our surroundings. It seemed that we were entering some type of farming town that had many hills everywhere. Due to the hills that we kept climbing it made me slightly out of breath, "Gandalf?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you so tall?"

"Or rather, why are you so short, Miss Ariana?"

My eyes narrowed at how he easily backfired my question before scoffing, "I am average height, thank you very much. Standing tall at 5'5! Now you are a freaking giant!"

The aged man glanced down at me with strange eyes once more as if he was figuring something out, "It a wonder how the Valar works."

We began climbing a rather large hill as I continued to get frustrated and confused by this man. "What do you mean?"

Gandalf glanced at beautifully colored sky to form his thoughts into words, "You stated rather proudly of your height, which it clearly the race of Man height. Now you are a height of Dwarves."

"What?"

"Gandalf!"

Upon hearing the shout behind us, I spun around quickly on my heel which made my untied hair fly around. I stumbled at the sudden loss of balance but quickly and ungracefully caught it. My eyes widened at the sight of eight men walking towards us with great smiles on their faces. Taking a slight step backwards to avoid them looking at me, I took that time to observe them. All of them were quite hairy with odd hairstyles. I didn't know what to think of these men.

"They're hairy." I muttered to Gandalf, who gave me a warning to quiet down as they got nearer. I noticed that they were all near my height, which gave me a comforting thought. Each one of the eight dwarves had their turn of shaking hands and hugging Gandalf. It was quite awkward standing off to the side while Gandalf hugged and chatted with the hairy dwarves.

The said man suddenly stepped aside and put a hand between my shoulder blades. "May I introduce my companion, Ariana.."

After realizing that I haven't given him my last name, I reintroduced myself for the dwarves, "Uh, hey, I'm Ariana Thorne. Pleased to meet you all, uh, dwarves!"

Well, that was my awkward introduction.

Apparently they didn't seem to mind my awkwardness yet seemed baffled at the sight of me. Did I have something on my face? Suddenly all things I were insecure about swam within my head. It all disappeared when one especially hairy dwarf stood and voiced their thoughts.

"Gandalf the Grey is travelling with a Dwarven woman? Now I think we all want to hear about this!" No dwarf argued with him and all shot grins in my direction. I sent a grin in return knowing that all of the talking would be left with Gandalf.

Gandalf lead us to where his dear friend lives, which was not very far from where we stood. When we did get to the house, er, Hobbit hole, I stood back and watched the others pile against the door. I waited somewhat patiently outside the door after someone knocked on the door. My eyes wandered around the outside of this Hobbit hole in wonder and curiosity. At the sound of a frantic yet angry voice coming to the door made me wonder if this was Gandalf's friend.

The moment the door swung open, all eight dwarves fell on each other which made the Hobbit gape in bewilderment. From inside you could hear obnoxiously loud laughing and chattering, which was most likely the cause of this Hobbit's anger and franticness. The way he stared at these dwarves made me pity the poor thing.

After the dwarves filed into the dining room, Gandalf and I stepped inside slowly. Immediately the elderly man headed off towards the dining room as well, leaving me with this Hobbit. The moment you see him and his house, it was clear he was a proper and cleanly man, er, Hobbit! Wanting to get on his good side, I held out my hand with a friendly smile on my face.

"Hi, I'm Ariana Thorne! Pleasure to meet you!"

He looked relieved that someone else in this Hobbit hole had manners and shook my hand with a grateful smile on his face, "I am Bilbo Baggins, the pleasure is all mine!"

An awkward silence followed shortly afterwards as I tried to find something to say. I blurted out the only thing that came to mind, "So, what is all of this? Is this a party you're hosting or..?"

Apparently it was the wrong thing to say as he sighed painfully, "I mean no offence or anything, but no, this is not. I actually do not have a clue on why they are all here."

"Well, that makes two of us! I don't know why I'm here or why Gandalf brought me here." I gave him a sympathetic smile which he returned before storming off to the dining room. Sucking in a breath to prepare me of what was going on in the dining room, I fixed my wavy hair before silently following inside.

I was stumped on what to do the moment I stepped inside the room. Many dwarves were setting the table for some type of feast. Other dwarves scattered around to find more chairs and food for the company. In the background you could hear Bilbo screeching at all the dwarves for them to put things away. I quickly moved out of the way for a dwarf that carried blocks of cheese and accidentally bumped into Gandalf. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

Gandalf smiled at me before walking off to more dwarves. I hopelessly glanced around not knowing what to do or where to go. I must have looked similar to a lost puppy just standing in the entrance of the dining room. Suddenly something crashed into me, making me go flying into the wall. A groan left my lips as pain ached in my back before I glared at whoever made me go flying.

"Hey!" I glared at two dwarves who looked shocked at me as they carried a large barrel of ale. The brunette who was closer eyed me with concern yet couldn't get closer because of the barrel he held.

"I'm so sorry, Milady!"

Heat rushed to my cheeks before I scrambled to my feet and murmured, "No, its fine." To avoid further embarrassment, I headed towards another room that happened to be the living room. Sitting myself down on a chair, I heaved out a sigh and ran through the events of today in my head. First I have a terrible argument with me mother (that I won't even think about right now), second I wake myself up to Gandalf, third I find out that I'm not in Lakefield anymore, fourth I'm connected to a prophecy and fifth I meet twelve dwarves and a Hobbit. There's not much that could surprise me now. I rubbed my face from exhaustion and stress. All I wanted to do was sleep after several explanations from Gandalf.

Standing to my feet, I rolled my shoulders before heading towards the loud dining room. Mentally preparing myself for this large company, I walked in and instantly spied out the man I was looking for. Stalking myself up to him with a frown, I tried to ignore the other dwarves.

"Gandalf, I've waited long enough. I want some explanations now." I stated as I placed my hands on my hips. He glanced over at me from a conversation with a smile.

"Ah! Now this is whom I was looking for!" Gandalf exclaimed loudly before clearing his throat to get everyone's attention, "Everyone, I would like to introduce my fellow companion, Miss Ariana Thorne!"

Giving the curious dwarves a half wave, I smiled awkwardly underneath their stares, "Hey."

"Miss Ariana, this is the company! Ori, Dori, Nori, Bifur, Bofur, Bomfur, Kili, Fili, Dwalin, Balin Oin and Gloin!"

Gandalf seated myself down beside him and gathered various foods onto a plate for me. I sent him a grateful smile before eating the food with more table manners than every dwarf put together. Several times I had to avoid flying food coming my way.

A dwarf stood up and shouted with food in his mouth that I had to avoid cringing away from, "What I would like to know is why Gandalf is travelling is a Dwarf woman!"

There were several shouts of agreements before Gandalf silenced them with a raised hand, "This will all be explained when the remaining member of our company appears."

"Why are you a female dwarf?" A dwarf that sat at the closest head of head asked me, loud enough for the entire table to hear. I believe his name was Bofur, but I'm not sure.

I was careful not to be too offended by his words, considering I'm still new to being an apparent dwarf. So I shrugged my shoulders easily, "I was just born like this."

A female dwarf? Is that not common here? How weird. Slowing biting into my bread roll, I gazed silently at each of the dwarves. Half of them were stuffing their mouths while the other half was staring at me oddly. At first I avoided their odd looks and ate the food provided for me but after several minutes I got too irritated by their constant staring. I narrowed my eyes at each of the staring dwarves before retorting slightly harshly, "Why are you all staring at me?"

One of the dwarves that had bumped me into the wall, the blonde one answered quickly, "We don't mean to come off rude or anything, Miss Ariana, but why do you wear such funny clothes?"

Subconsciously, I wrapped my black sweater around me and glanced down at my clothes. It was something that I had quickly thrown on before storming out of the house. I hadn't given much thought into it. It only consisted of a black sweater with grey jeans. Nothing fancy or odd. Well maybe it was odd for them considering they wore layers of coats and furs. "Where I come from, this is normal."

"Where do you come from?" Another dwarf that I had forgotten his name asked me, leaning forwards to hear me better.

I bit my tongue as I realized that I couldn't just tell them that I'm from Lakefield- not from Middle Earth. Swiftly, I gently smacked Gandalf to get his attention for him to answer the question for me.

I gave him a warning look when he glanced over my way. A grin grew on his aged face before turning to answer the dwarf who questioned me, "I met Miss Ariana far up North not too long ago. We have been travelling here ever since. Everything else will be explained in due time."

Suddenly I had to duck my head as Fili came walking across the table holding several mugs of ale. "Would you care to have some, Miss Ariana?"

"Uh, I'm good thanks." I smiled reassuringly to him before going to stand beside a bewildered Bilbo. During the entire evening, I couldn't help the sympathy for the poor Hobbit.

A comforting smile grew on my face as he looked at me just as a belching contest began, "It sure is hectic, isn't it?"

"Very," Bilbo sighed painfully as he stared at each of the dwarves in disdain. My eyes widened as I stared at the most timid and polite of the dwarves let out a demonic belch. The other one, who had bumped into me earlier, Kili, caught my wide eyes.

"Lads! There is a Lady present!" All of the dwarves froze for a moment before turning to me. My gaping expression soon turned into a smile then into laughter. In all honesty I found it quite hilarious. Call me immature, but hey, it's funny! From the corner of my eye I saw Bilbo looking at me astonish.

After a while the dwarves had calmed down and dispersed into several different areas of the house, mainly the cellar. Bilbo quickly left my side to go reprimand dwarves which left me staring at the enormous mess that these dwarves left behind. Why are they so messy? Grumbling to myself, I slowly began tidying the dining room. There were leftover food in every part of the dining room and empty plates and mug everywhere.

"Would you like some help, Miss Ariana?" I glanced up to find the timid dwarf from earlier.

I smiled at him for his generosity and nodded my head, "Yes, thank you. What's your name again?"

"I'm Ori," He replied with a smile and continued to help me tidy the room. We both were stumped on where to put the dishes so Ori offered to ask Bilbo where we should do with them. While I waited for him, I played with my dark hair in thought. Why couldn't Gandalf just give me some reasonable answers and I will be on my merry way. Now I had to deal with this mess.

"Watch out, Miss Ariana!" Looking over my shoulder, I gasped at the plate being flung in my direction and I pressed my back up against the wall quickly. What the hell? My eyes widened at the flying plates and bowls that were smoothly catch by dwarf at the sink.

"Woah, woah, let me get out of here before you all go crazy and throw plates everywhere!" I grumbled to myself as I made my way to the entrance, only for it to be blocked by Kili. He merely smirked at my astonished expression before throwing another plate to his brother. Peeking around him, I noticed that I couldn't step out so I sighed and leaned around the wall.

Kili stepped forwards and called out in a deep voice, "Blunt the knives bend the forks!"

The blonde one, Fili, smoothly bounced the plate on his elbows and wore the same smirk as Kili did, _"Smash the bottles and burn the corks!"_

More dwarves joined in with laughter and playing with utensils for instruments _"Chip the glasses and crack the plates!"_

A flying bowl was headed towards me, making me suck in a sharp breath and squeeze one eye shut. Kili swiftly stepped in front of me and caught the bowl before flinging it towards his brother (I believe). A mischievous smirk stayed on his face as he winked down at me, "Careful there."

"_That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!_

_Cut the cloth, tread on the fat._

_Leave the bones on the bedroom mat._

_Pour the milk on the pantry floor, splash the wine on every door._

_Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl, pound them with a thumping pole._

_When you're finished, if they're any whole,_

_Send them down the hall to roll!_

_That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!"_

I exchanged a bewildered glance with Bilbo before staring at the dwarves and plates astonished. Each of the dwarves including Gandalf began laughing loudly at our bewildered expressions on their faces. What just happened? Not even five minutes ago there was an enormous mess in the dining room and now it's spotless! The dwarves managed to clean the entire dining room while singing and having fun, all while keeping in tune! Wow. I just- Wow. That's all I could think about at the moment.

"Wait, what just- Wow. How did you guys do that? I mean- wow." I spluttered over words, trying to find the right thing to say only to have them laugh merrily at my speechlessness.

Suddenly, Kili swung an arm around me while laughing alongside everyone else, "You'll get used to it!"

I was about to retort when three loud knocks interrupted the merry atmosphere. Those three simple knocks made everyone silent. My eyebrows furrowed together. Who else was coming? I thought everyone was already here!

"He's here." Gandalf stated after a moment of silence. He stood up to retrieve whoever was at the door.

Who? I wanted answers now! I poked Kili's side suddenly before asked quietly, not wanting anyone to here. "Whose he?"

Kili shared a glance with Fili before looking down at me with seriousness in his brown eyes, "Our uncle's here."

Was he important or something? I hate being left out in the dark about everything! I frowned as the dwarves piled around the entrance as the door opened. They stood so closely that I couldn't see who it was, yet I could hear him. He had such a deep voice that made me shiver. Apparently he was important if everyone was bowing respectfully at him. The oh-so-important man, er, dwarf mentioned how he had lost his way twice and perhaps another if he hadn't found the mark on the door. Bilbo, of course, had taken great offence to that and claimed that he had only painted that door a mere week ago. From the back of the group, I heard Gandalf introduce Bilbo to the oh-so-important dwarf, Thorin Oakenshield.

Thorin then began to question poor Bilbo about his use of weapons, which made me tense. Why would he be asking what he used to fight with? Would he question me? I made sure to press myself up against the wall to hide from his intense gaze when he walked past. When he entered the dining room I let out a breath that I've been holding. After Gandalf had spoken with Bilbo he walked up to me with his intense gaze as well.

"Now, until I introduce you to him after he is fed, please avoid him. It won't take too long." Gandalf told me with a warning lacing his tone.

Running my fingers through my hair, I nodded with a sigh, "Kape."

He looked at me oddly at my reply before following the dwarves into the dining room. If I could, then I would most like to avoid this Thorin Oakenshield forever. He seems like the type not to be trifled with. Realizing that I was stupidly standing in the hallway alone, I quietly entered the dining room and immediately stood next to Bilbo. Beside Gandalf, I much preferred Bilbo's company because he never tried to demolish me with flying plates.

The lights in the room had dimmed, giving it a more comfy appearance than it was earlier. I exchanged a nervous glance with Bilbo and instantly knew that we were on the same page. We both we clueless of everything and still bewildered. It was a nervous habit of mine to hide my hands in my long sleeves of my sweater.

I stayed beside Bilbo while the dwarves conversed about the meeting that Thorin attended before he came here. Apparently it will only be them that will be going on this quest. Bilbo was about to ask about the quest when Gandalf leaned forwards to Thorin with all seriousness and glanced to the other dwarves.

"Are you all familiar with the other prophecy that is connected to this one? I am sure the older dwarves will know of it, but I am not sure if the younger ones will know of it." Gandalf asked as he stared at the entire company, excluding Bilbo and I. However we both were listening intently.

"Aye," Balin nodded his head, "It was foretold that when the ravens fly back to the Lonely Mountain, then it is time. It is time for a company of fourteen shall reclaim our homeland."

Gandalf nodded his head, "Yes, however there is another prophecy that connects to it: When the ravens journey to the lost homeland and the company of fourteen shall quest their way to the lost homeland, they shall be joined with one from a distant land. She who shall stand with the company until the last breath. She will help defeat the beast within the walls. She shall bring many surprises to those she meets.

"Thorin, I would like to introduce the fifteenth member of our company." He ignored my obvious attempts to avoid this and reached out to pull me into Thorin's gaze.

"I am Ariana Thorne, pleasure to meet you." I said after a moment to realize that I had to introduce myself. Earlier I had noticed that everyone had bowed upon meeting someone else, so I bowed my head respectfully. There wasn't much space to fully bow, so I opted with a simple bow of the head.

"You are the one the prophecy foretold. A woman." Thorin stated emotionless and his face unreadable.

After realizing what both Gandalf and Thorin had said, my eyebrows furrowed together and I whipped my head towards Gandalf. I was so confused at the moment that it wasn't even funny, "Wait, wait, wait. Hold the phone. You think I'm the one in the prophecy? Why didn't you tell me all of this earlier when I asked you, Gandalf?"

"I had told you that all will be explained in due time and now it's time." Gandalf replied calmly, which only fueled my irritation.

"And you want me to join you on a quest?" I asked bewildered at him.

Bilbo stepped up beside me with curiosity, "What quest are you all talking about?"

Gandalf quickly sent Bilbo for more light as he pulled out a folded up piece of paper. The folded paper was actually a map, something that instantly caught Bilbo's attention. I quirked an eyebrow at the map, it was readable to me but just barely. I listened full heartedly as the dwarves retold the prophecy with such heart. My body tensed greatly at the mention of the beast though. I glanced between every single member of the room hesitantly, and spared a second longer with Kili before turning to Gandalf, "What beast?"

"Well, that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible. The chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire breather! Teeth like razors! Claws like meat hooks! Extremely vulnerable to precious metal." Bofur explained calmly as he smoked his long pipe.

I felt my hands ball up into tight fists at the description of this beast. These dwarves must be crazy if they are willing to destroy this dragon. Bilbo quickly cut Bofur off and stated that we all knew what a dragon was. I half-heartedly listened to Ori stand to his feet and bravely explain how he wasn't afraid. My head swam with several thoughts about this quest, this dragon and these dwarves. This was completely overwhelming for a simple teenager like me. I wrapped my arms around myself and willed myself to listen further.

"The past was difficult enough with an army behind us; we number in just thirteen and not thirteen of the best." Balin stated grimly, "Nor the brightest."

I wasn't stupid. As they told brief descriptions here and there that answered my questions somewhat, I pieced it all together. These dwarves and Gandalf wanted me to join them on this quest to defeat Smaug the Terrible. What help was I to them? They were all fighters, as Fili boldly said. I wasn't by no means a fighter. Heck, I still jump when my toast pops from the toaster!

Shivers crept up my spine at the thought of this quest so I pulled my sweater closer to myself and took a deep breath, careful to not catch anyone's attention. I half-heartedly listened to the dwarves pester Gandalf about how many dragons he had slayed in his time, all of which he avoided answering.

Thorin then shut them all up by standing to his feet with a shout, "If we had read these signs, then do you not think others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug had not been seen in over sixty years. Eyes looked east to the mountain, assessing, wandering, and willing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?"

"You forget the front gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain." Balin said grimly once more.

"That, my dear Balin, is not true." Gandalf replied smoothly as he twirled a key around his finger. It was a large, elaborately fashioned key that he held in his hand.

Thorin stared at the large key in hope, "How came you by this?"

"It was given to me by your father; by Thrain, for safe keeping. It is yours now." Gandalf explained mysteriously as he gave the key to Thorin. Hope flared within Thorin's bright eyes as he held the key in his hand..

"If there is a key," Fili began after a moment, "There must be a door!"

Despite the overwhelming thoughts I snorted at his conclusion before muttering, "Thank you Captain Obvious."

I was ignored by majority of the group and it seemed as though they were used to sarcastic remarks. Both Fili and Kili glanced over made way with amused grins on their faces.

Gandalf pointed to the map with his wand, "These runes speak of a hidden passage in the lower halls."

"There's another way in!" Kili stated with newfound hope and wrapped an arm around his brother.

I bit back another sarcastic retort because this time I knew I would get scolded by Gandalf. Seriously though, how many obvious things can these guys say?

"Well if we can find it, but Dwarf doors are invisible when closed," Gandalf pointed out. He was silent for a moment before he sighed, "The answer lies somewhere in this map, and I do not have the skill to find it. But there are others in Middle Earth who can. The task I have in hand will require a great deal of stealth and no small amount of courage. But if we are careful and clever, I believe it can be done."

"That's why we need a burglar!" Ori exclaimed with a great smile.

"A good one, too," Bilbo agreed, not knowing to whom they were referring to, "An expert, I imagine."

I nearly smacked my forehead at him. My headache from earlier began to grow once more from all of this information and arguing that the dwarves were now doing. Their voices were loud and it wasn't making my headache any better. I understand where they needed Bilbo because of the stealth he held. But me? Where in the world do I come in? I held no special skill. I have never fought in a battle nor how to wield a weapon. Why does Gandalf think I'm the one in the prophecy? I wanted to groan in frustration from my answerless questions. My lips pursed together after Gandalf had calmed down from his fit he had.

"Kay," I stated firmly, catching everyone's attention even startling some. I was too frustrated to even care about anything else at the moment. In arguments you have to appear strong to hold up your side of the argument. That's just what I did, I held my shoulders back and stood my ground, "I understand Bilbo's part in this, but why the hell am I here? Not once have my questions been answered and quite frankly I'm getting fed up. Gandalf, I need answers. I will not wait any further."

The room came silent for several moments while I attempted to keep my temper in check. Frankly, it wasn't quite working for me. Some dwarves stared at me astonished. Gandalf sighed for a moment before looking at me intensely, "I do not know all the answers myself, but I do know that there is a reason of why you are here, Miss Ariana. You are part of that prophecy and you cannot avoid it any further."

I frowned heavily at him. I had to bite down on my bottom lip to prevent any further anger exploding. He tried to keep eye contact with me but I stubbornly looked away with tight fists. I hated not knowing answers. Silence followed shortly afterwards with all eyes on me. In a defeated yet still angered tone I muttered, "I don't have a choice in all of this, do I?"

"As much as do not want to bring you along, there is no choice," Thorin replied deeply also knowing that there is nothing to do about it. He scowled deeply into his mug of ale, also hating the fact that I'm to join this quest, "You cannot prevent prophecies. Give the girl and Hobbit a contract."

I bit down on my lip harder to avoid lashing out on him. He could at least hide his disdain for me. Unfortunately it seemed as though I hadn't bit down on my lip hard enough as I retorted sassily, "I do have a name, you know, and it's not girl. It's Ariana."

I stubbornly glanced away from the oh-so-important dwarf to find Gandalf giving me a pained expression. My eyes met with both Kili and Fili's amused expressions whom were trying their hardest not to burst out laughing. Their shoulders shook from their attempts of holding in their laughter. It was amusing to find them like this and I felt my stubborn frown soften. Turning away from them, I turned back to both Thorin and Balin. Balin was the one who was the witness of these contracts.

Balin began listing off things that were stated in the contracts, unlike Bilbo I didn't immediately protest. Snatching the contract from Thorin, I walked out into the hallway to give myself some space. Apparently Bilbo had the same idea and followed me out shortly.

"Oh, what did we get ourselves into?" I muttered to the both of us as I played with my hair as I read the risks of this quest.

Bilbo glanced up at me sympathetically before continuing reading aloud, "Limited to...laceration.. evisceration?... Incineration?"

I stopped reading at that point and simply blinked at his words. Incineration. It was understandable. I mean, we were facing a fire breathing dragon. What else could Bilbo expect? At this point of time, I'm not surprised at what else the universe could throw at me. Or what Gandalf said earlier the Valar or whoever he was talking about.

"Oh, aye," Bofur started once more, again not paying any mind to either Bilbo or I, "he'll melt the flesh off your bones in a blink of an eye."

"Oh yeah, 'cause that's reassuring!" I retorted sarcastically at the older dwarf. Hearing wheezing from beside me, I looked over my shoulder to find Bilbo with his hands on his knees breathing heavily. He waved off Balin's concern and blankly stared ahead of him. By the way he acted earlier, he seemed to be the type of guy, er, Hobbit to focus on comfort and food. This quest was far too overwhelming for him.

Gently, not to alarm him, I placed my hand on his shoulder, "Hey, Bilbo, do you need to sit down?"

"I feel a bit faint." He muttered before standing to his feet. Bilbo's breathing shortened and quickened slightly.

From inside the dining room, Bofur continued to talk pleasantly, not aware of Bilbo's state, "Think furnace with wings! Flash of light, searing pain, then poof! You're nothing more than a pile of ash!"

Glaring at the dwarf briefly, I returned my attention onto Bilbo. The poor thing was frozen onto the spot. His brown eyes blankly stared in front of him as his breathing slowed down. Bilbo straightened out once more, making everyone believe he was fine. Suddenly he uttered, "Nope," before fainting on the stop. Unfortunately he spun around on his heel and collapsed onto me. I had little time to regain my balance. My knees threatened to buckle underneath me as I tried to hold up his weight.

"Someone get him off of me!" I cried out as my knees bent further. Gandalf and Bofur immediately shot to their feet and rushed over to us. The Hobbit's weight was relieved from me as they carried him into the living room. Unfortunately I had lost my balance again and I fell on my bottom with an huff.

* * *

The stars that decorated the night sky so beautiful that I was lost into myself for ten minutes just staring. All of these stars were unfamiliar to me. It was quite beautiful compared to the ones back home. Home. All day I couldn't properly think about home because of all of the hectic events that happened. Would anyone be worried about me? I mean I stormed out of the house and had not come back yet. It was more than a day considering it was early afternoon when I left. Mum probably didn't care, as she clearly stated during the argument. I don't know what my siblings thought. We often fought so they are probably happy that I'm gone.

Pulling my knees to my chest, I let out a defeated sigh. Everything was too complicated for me. On top of all of my unanswered questions was now the burden of going on this quest. After Bilbo had fainted, I hastily wrote my name of the contract before slamming it down on the table. I swiftly excused myself before heading out here. Now I sat upon Bilbo's bench outside of his house with my head resting on my knees.

What did I get myself into?

"You're going to catch a cold if you sleep out here, Miss Ariana!"

The sudden voice made me jump and my head instantly snapped up to find the source to this voice. I relaxed as soon as I seen both Kili and Fili marching over to the bench with grins on their faces. "I wasn't sleeping."

"Then what were you doing out here, Miss Ariana?" Fili asked as both of the brother sat on either side of me.

"Thinking," I replied simply with a shrug.

Kili leaned forwards with the grin still on his face, "About what, Miss Ariana?"

"Lots of things, but right now my head is one big jumbled mess." I laughed breathily as I glanced up at the stars for a moment. Silence followed shortly afterwards and I could practically feel them itching to ask questions. "You know, if you have questions then ask."

"Why are you so funny looking?"

I blinked stupidly at Kili. "What?"

Fili reached around me to smack Kili upside the head, earning a yelp from the younger brother. Fili glanced over at me with a sympathetic smile, "My idiot brother doesn't mean no offence or anything, Miss Ariana. He was referring to your quite fair appearance which is quite odd within our kin."

"Yeah, normally she-dwarves have long beards and deep voices! If it weren't for your height then we would have assumed that you were an elf!" Kili replied brightly.

"I'm not sure if that was an insult or compliment." I answered carefully, not knowing what they meant by that. I mean, weren't elves short little things?

"It was a compliment! Don't worry, Miss Ariana!" Kili scrambled to reassure me with a bright smile. I noted that his smile was slightly contagious and I found myself smiling as well.

As a breeze blew by, I hugged my knees closer to my chest while I gave both dwarves an odd look, "I'd prefer it if you'd call me Ariana. 'Cause calling me Miss is just too weird."

From the corners of my eyes I noticed both brothers exchange a wide grin knowing that I'm warming up to them.

"Well, Ariana, would you care to tell us where you're from?" It seemed as though everyone was curious about me, which was quite weird.

I answered though, just briefly though, "In a small village up North."

"How old are you?" Kili asked with curiosity clearly evident in his deep eyes.

I held up a hand to my chest in mock anger and surprise "My, Kili, don't you know it's an insult to ask a woman about her age?"

A smirk grew on his face when he caught onto her mockery before playing along by bowing, "Forgive me. If I tell you my age, will you tell me yours?"

An amused grin grew on my face and agreed to his small deal.

"I am seventy-seven and my dear brother here is eighty two." I nearly gaped at his age as if it was an everyday thing. Seventy-seven? What the hell? I know a couple seventy-seven year olds and they didn't look as young as he did! He only seemed not much older than me, and I'm nineteen! Then again, I did somehow manage to get myself to another world. I cannot say how old I truly am without seeming like an alien.

I glanced up to find both of their expectant expressions on their faces and realizing I had to answer. Heat rushed to my cheeks when I realized that I was thinking about my age for too long. "Oh, yeah, I'm seventy five."

There was a humming sound that instantly caught my attention. I uncurled myself from the bench and sat straight up, "Do you guys hear that?"

I glanced between both brothers and saw the recognition flash in their eyes.

Fili grinned and shot to his feet, "They're singing a song! If you are going to travel with us, then you must be familiar with this song!"

"Come on! Let's hurry!" A childish grin grew on Kili as he grabbed my hand to haul me to my feet. Without letting go of my hand he pulled me towards the door. Wanting to get inside as quick as possible, Fili rushed me into the Hobbit hole and they guided me into the living room. Kili turned around with a finger to his lips before he let go of me to join in on the singing. Fili patted my shoulder and left to join his brother in the humming.

There was an atmosphere that you couldn't break inside the living room. I found myself leaning against the doorframe and listening to each dwarf hum in harmony. The fire gave the room a comforting feeling and lit up everyone's faces as they hummed. Thorin began to sing in a deep, grave yet soothing voice that harmonized with the dwarves' humming.

_Far over the Misty Mountain cold,_

_To dungeons deep and caverns old._

_We must away ere break of day,_

_To find our long forgotten gold._

By now, each of the dwarves slowly stood to their feet while continuing to hum. The serious meaning of the sound sent shivers down my back. I pulled my sweater more closely around my body as possible. All joy and happiness were long forgotten in the dwarves' expressions and were replaced by grave and serious ones. It was odd seeing Kili and Fili so serious.

_The pines were roaring on the height,_

_The winds were moaning in the night,_

_The fire was red, it flaming spread, _

_The trees like torches blazed with light. _

A small smile grew on my face as I listened intently to their harmonized singing. It calmed my jumbled thoughts for the night, and all I had wanted to sleep to their comforting humming.

* * *

**_Well here is where you all see more of Ariana's personality! I already have one follower to this story! I mean, wow! Thank you!_**

**_Like it? Hate it? Lemme know in a review!_**


	3. I guess I'm not normal

Did I look alright? I stared at my appearance in the long mirror unsurely. I mean the clothes were beautiful but I wasn't entirely sure on me.

After the dwarves' beautiful song, Gandalf had told me that Bilbo had offered me a guest room. Somehow Gandalf had persuaded the Hobbit into letting me have two pairs of his mother's adventuring outfits. Gandalf had mentioned it to me that Belladonna Took was quite the adventurer back in her day and owned several different outfits. Apparently it took quite a bit of persuading to let me have these outfits because it was his deceased mother's clothes after all.

The beige shirt I wore was too loose so I tucked it into my pants, or, trousers as Gandalf stated. I had to sew the large waistband of the trousers to fit my waist better. Apparently the trousers were originally supposed to come up to a Hobbit women's mid-calf, yet it came below the knee for me. Luckily for me when I stormed out of my house yesterday, I had worn my leather combat boots.

"I guess this is alright," I murmured to myself as I ran my fingers through my wavy hair. I had attempted to fix my terrible bedhead as much as possible. Gandalf had mentioned it to me that Bilbo had refused to join them which dampened my mood last night. I was quite hoping to have someone else who didn't know how to fight and liked cleanliness to join me. I quickly scrambled to write a quick note for Bilbo before heading out to meet the others.

_ Bilbo Baggins (Or how Kili says it 'Mr Boggins!')_

_ I don't know how else to say it, but thank you for everything. I was quite looking forward for you to come with us so someone else could share my pain. I'm seriously going to miss your comfy bed. Your home is very comfy and pretty!_

_Anyways! Goodbye! Maybe we'll see each other again once day! _

_ Ariana Thorne_

"There you are, Miss Ariana! I thought we would have to leave you behind" Balin exclaimed the moment I stepped outside while eating a bread roll. All of the dwarves seem fed and ready to go. Despite my raging and depressing thoughts last night, there was a small feeling of excitement in myself.

I sent a grin over to the older dwarf, "I had to do a couple things before I left."

"I see the clothes fit you well." Looking over my shoulder to Gandalf who stood near the others, I smiled over at him. The moment he called out to me it had caught the other's attention.

"I had to fix it up a little bit though because it was a bit big on me." I replied before biting into my bread roll. In all honesty, I felt ridiculous. Never in my entire life had I worn clothes like this. My outfits usually consisted of jeans, yoga pants and sweaters. Subconsciously I began smoothing out any wrinkles.

I jumped at the sudden weight around my shoulders and looked up to find Kili grinning, "You ready to go?"

I hadn't fully realized that we would be travelling on ponies until Kili led me over to them. I had to bite a comment about how I mysteriously shrunk into a dwarf which resulted in riding ponies. Not horses, but ponies. I still wasn't pleased with the fact that I'm now a dwarf.

Eyeing the pony, I decided to just let them know, "I have never ridden a pony before."

"Really?" Kili looked at me with a shocked expression that made me feel stupid.

"What? Is riding ponies normal or something?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

Kili seemed surprised at my lack of riding experience and nodded dumbly. I made a face as him before laughing, "Then I guess I'm not normal."

He began laughing alongside me before teaching me how to get onto a horse. It was a brief and quick explanation because we were to leave in several minutes. In the end I had managed to get onto my horse after falling off a couple times. I had to bite down my embarrassment and focus on saddling the damn animal. On occasion my pride got the best of me, which was another cause of the argument with mum. I shoved the thought aside because I was too busy to focus on her.

* * *

Pain. That's all I felt in my thighs and bottom. I was grumbling about it for quite a while before Thorin's sharp glare shut me up. However it didn't stop me from mocking him behind his back. It wasn't my fault that I hadn't ridden a pony before, which was quite awkward. My body was completely stiff and my hands were rigid after I had almost fallen off. Balin warned me not to squeeze my legs together or the pony will throw me off. I smiled over to the other dwarf to avoid the frightened expression from appearing. Thankfully both Kili and Fili kept me occupied by talking about the randomest things. It almost made me forget about the aching pain and falling off. Almost.

I didn't want to participate in the dwarves' bet of Bilbo coming because I honestly wasn't sure. By the time Bilbo had come rushing up to us while waving, I nearly cried in relief. Finally there was someone else I could relate to. I mean, I loved Kili and Fili's company but they didn't understand me like Bilbo did. Both Bilbo and I didn't know how to fight and loved comfort and cleanliness.

Bilbo and I had a lengthy conversation about what we were going to miss the most and how this quest was completely overwhelming. We kept our conversation quiet to avoid any looks from the others- disappointing or angered ones. The Hobbit did most of the talking though about the comfort of his home, his garden, his bed and the peacefulness. I made little comments here and there, both comforting and sarcastic.

There were times that we were all quiet and observed the scenery- which was quite beautiful. My thoughts wandered as I lazily observed the nature around me. This whole ordeal made me think I was living in a long-ass dream. I mean before I never would have expected that another world existed filled with several creatures and beings that were believed to be fake in my world. Heh, my world. I wonder what everyone in my world would think if they knew that these creatures and beings were real.

By the time nightfall approached, Thorin called out that we would be camping by a secure cliff side. There were rock walls surrounding us so we were safely hidden from the wild. Everyone had begun to dismount and unpack their ponies while I simply sat there. I didn't want to embarrass myself by telling them I didn't know how to dismount because they all made it look so easy!

"And this is where everyone will come to realize how much of a klutz I really am." I muttered underneath my breath as I glanced around to see if there was any large stump I could step onto to get off this animal. Of course, there wasn't.

"What are you going on about?" Kili asked ahead of me as he unloaded his pony. He, like the rest of the company, had smoothly gotten off his pony without trouble.

I frowned at the thought before staring at him while sagging my shoulders, "I don't know how to get off this animal."

A wide grin grew on his face the moment I said it. He stepped to the side of my pony and held out his hand mockingly, "Would you like me to lift you down, Milady?"

My lips pursed together at his mockery. As charming it may sound, I won't have it. I stubbornly shook my head, "I'll manage."

Wrong move.

I thought I was good at copying others' movements but apparently not. I had swung my leg over the horse like they did and pushed off the horse. My foot had got caught tangled in the foot hold-thing, stirrup I think, and made me go tumbling to the ground still attached to the saddle. I let out a yelp as I hung upside down off the side of the horse. Kili, of course, burst out in hysterical laughter and caught the attention of the others. My face burned from their laughter and annoyed expressions. I think I may die before the end of this quest.

Once Kili had calmed down enough he helped untangle me while still chuckling to himself. I thanked him grudgingly before unpacking my pony and stalking off towards the others. I planted myself on the outskirts of the group and avoided all of the amused looks they threw my way. Kili followed me still laughing at me and sat by his brother who was not too far from me.

Irritation grew at the sound of him still laughing at me and Fili joined with me. I glared over their way before grumbling, "Stop laughing at me!"

"Sorry, sorry." Those two arses were not sorry. Kili and Fili tried to calm down at my annoyed expression. Key word: tried. Both of them bit back their laughter yet they were miserably failing. I continued to glare at the two to have them calm down, yet they looked away in order to calm down. It ended up in Kili sneaking a glance at me before bursting out in hysterical laughter once more.

I tried to frown angrily at them but it ended up with me cracking a grin then snorting unladylike in amusement.

"Fili, Kili, scout the perimeter and take the girl with you." Thorin demanded from the other side of the camp, making my eye twitch.

I stood up and cocked my hip out to retort sassily at him but I had gotten pulled away by the brothers. Knowing that I had to do something to show my displeasure at the oh-so-important dwarf, I glared over my shoulder before we were out of sight.

"It isn't wise for you to act like that to him. He isn't too pleased with you joining the company, nor your sassiness to him last night." Fili reprimanded gently, only making me frown.

"It's not my fault he's just too damned difficult! Maybe if he could take that stick out of his ass then maybe I could tolerate him better." I rambled angrily as I kicked a couple sticks to release my anger.

Kili snickered from beside me as we continued walking in the dim forest, "If he heard you then he'd have your head."

"Yeah, well, I don't care." I grumbled before glancing up at the stars for the second time. I had memorized the night sky back home and now I'm determined to memorize the night sky in Middle Earth.

Kili, again, cut me off from my stargazing by starting a new conversation, "I didn't know you were such a klutz, Ariana! Did you brother?"

"Not until today." Fili chuckled from the memory and shared a smirk with his brother.

"I'm not a klutz. I'm just incapable at a couple things." Of course, that was a lie. My pride was too great to voice out loudly to these two. I mean I could say it all I can when I'm alone, but not in front of these two.

"Yeah and that includes being incapable of dismounting a pony!" Fili snickered in amusement as we walked into camp. Bombur had already made dinner by the time we had arrived which I was quite grateful for. I had only had a bread roll and an apple all day and my stomach had been making noises all evening for food.

I happily dug into my stew with as much manners as I could in the forest. We were halfway through our dinner when one of the dwarves, Nori I think, asked me a question that caught me off guard, "Miss Ariana, you never did tell us how you ended up travelling with Mister Gandalf."

I nearly choked on my food at the sudden question but managed to hide it. I set down my bowl and fiddled with my ponytail that I had tied during the afternoon sometime.

"Well it was a week or so ago when I did meet Gandalf," I paused to rake my head with a lie that I could say without sounding insane because of what really happened. It seemed that the other dwarves had gotten interested in my story, even Gandalf and Thorin had gotten interested. Oh yeah, I didn't even tell Gandalf the entire story. "I had gotten into a terrible argument with my mother and ended up storming away without a goodbye or anything. It was there when I met Gandalf and he offered me to travel with him after hearing my story. I accepted it because I didn't want to go back to my mother."

"What was the argument about?" Ori asked politely. My eyes swept over the company and noted that everyone was curious about my story. What nosy dwarves these guys were.

"Well," I trailed off, trying to find a way to tell them that would sound reasonable, "I had asked her if I could get taught the piano by a man in the next village. She immediately refused which was when I snapped."

I scoffed at the memory of her refusal before continuing, "I asked her why she wouldn't let me and she said it was too dangerous. I snapped at her and told her that my older sister had gone travelling when she was my age, hoping that it'd persuade her. Apparently not. It resulted in me shouting at her why I couldn't go do something that I wanted really badly like my sister and she eventually told me the reason."

Taking a shuddering breath to calm myself before continuing, "She had told me that whenever I played my guitar that it was annoying and she didn't want me becoming more of a nuisance than I already was. I called her some awful things and stormed out of the house."

The fire cackled as the company grew silent while they took in this information. My legs folded up to my chest while I rested my chin on my knees and watched the flames.

"I'm sorry, lass." Nori replied sadly with sympathetic eyes.

I waved his pity off before clearing my throat, "It's no big deal, I didn't really get along with her in the first place. Now who has some happier stories to tell?"

I could tell that they weren't too pleased at my nonchalant reaction to it, but in all honesty, I wanted to avoid that subject forever. There was a reason I didn't tell them the entire argument because it was terrible. I half-heartedly listened to Balin's story while I gazed up at the stars in deep thought. After feeling a breeze I had pulled out my black hoodie that I had tucked away in my pack. I zipped it halfway before continuing to gaze meaningfully at the stars.

Apparently I had fallen asleep sometime because I was awoken suddenly because a high pitched screech.

Quickly sitting up, I glanced all around me to insure that it wasn't a dream. Many of the others were still asleep with the exception of a few. My eyes quickly caught Kili's and I instantly knew that I hadn't dreamt of the screech. Bilbo and I asked at the same time what it was but in different forms, "What the hell was that?"

It screeched again, making me feel uneasy and Kili answered shortly after, "Orcs."

"Orcs?" Bilbo asked as he quickly came further into the safety of the camp. I was too busy trying to fully awaken to ask.

"Throat cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there. The low lands are crawling with them." Fili explained calmly as he smoked his pipe.

I narrowed my eyes hysterically at the blonde dwarf before whispering quietly. I didn't want to wake the others. "You're being very calm about this."

I barely caught the small smirk Kili sent me before he glanced over to a frantic Bilbo. Those little shits. I knew what their game was now. My eyes narrowed half-heartedly at the two before yawning. Kili continued explaining in a grave tone, "They strike in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet. No screams."

As much as I wanted to chuckle alongside the two brothers at Bilbo's horrified expression, I'm on the same boat as him at the moment. I was just better at hiding it. Hugging my knees to my chest I rubbed my calves for warmth. There was a decent enough of bare skin between my trousers and boot that it chilled me. Thorin's sudden deep voice made me jump on my spot.

"You think that's funny? You think a night raid of orcs is a joke?" Thorin demanded quietly, instantly having both brothers to grow silent.

"We didn't mean anything by it." Kili muttered, avoiding eye contact with his uncle and looking downcast.

"No you didn't. You know nothing of the world" With that, Thorin marched off to where the ponies were, leaving things very awkward. With my foot I reached over a nudged him to get his attention. Kili glanced over at me with such saddened and disappointed eyes it made me feel terrible.

I smiled comfortingly at him while cocking my head at him, "Hey, it's okay. Now stop looking so glum, chum." He offered me a small smile despite my tacky line I used.

After I felt somewhat content with the half-hearted smile he gave me, I decided that I was beyond tired. Before I got ready to fall asleep I took out my hair from the ponytail and pulled my hood up to provide more warmth. Balin begun to tell the tale of Thorin fighting the Pale Orc that slowly lulled me to sleep.

* * *

**_Yes, I know. This chapter is pathetically short and was more of a filler if anything. I'm currently writing the next chapters and keep getting sidetracked! I'm sorry! _**

**_Thank you to everyone who favourited and followed this story! I couldn't stop grinning stupidly when I seen it!_**

**_Like it? Hate it? Lemme know in a review!_**


	4. Oversized Potatoes

Who knew travelling was so long? I am really missing vehicles with every being in my body. I mean if we could drive to the Lonely Mountain then we would get there so much faster. Travelling on ponies is dreadful. It makes your bottom and thighs itch and ache! I'm starting to hate this quest already.

It has been a week since we left the quaint place of Hobbiton and in all honesty it was quite awkward and uncomfortable in the beginning. The dwarves were certainly a handful and overwhelming to be around but after a while you get used to them. When they were in pleasant moods then I enjoyed their company because they were so merry all the time!

I slowly began to learn more about the dwarven culture and each of the dwarves as the days passed, just as they slowly began to learn more about me. Of course I had to alter my background for them to understand and not get suspicious about where I really came from. The two princes found it amusing whenever I got irritated and attempted to press my buttons whenever they could.

I had wishy-washy feelings about this quest because of several different reasons. I hated it because I had to wake up early every day. I loved it because of the breathtaking scenery. I hated it because of occasionally taking watch over camp. I loved it because of the friends I was slowly making. I hated it because of the oh-so-important dwarf always calling me out on my mistakes and the glares he sent me. Today I found myself hating this quest.

First of all I got woken up at the break of dawn for the seventh time in a round, second I wake up to find everybody laughing at my terrible bedhead which was a regular occurrence for me and finally, sudden downpour. The damn rain had me soaked in minutes. My sweater was by no means thick and neither is this shirt I wore. I swore that the ones riding in the front of our group could hear my teeth chattering from the back of the group. Now I wish I wore a thicker jacket when I left home. Everyone was in a foul mood so I dared not to complain. I swear I'm going to get sick after today.

"Miss Ariana? Are you alright back there?" Gandalf asked as he turned around from his spot in the front, making me jump at the sudden attention.

"Just peachy." I replied sarcastically before shuddering from the cold.

"Want my cloak?" Kili asked from in front of me as he pulled his hood back.

As much as I wanted warmth, I couldn't let Kili give me his cloak only for me to be warmth, "Nah, I'm good."

"No you're not. Your teeth have been chattering for the past hour!" Damn you, Kili.

"Actually, I am feeling just pea-" I was cut off by a mouthful of his cloak. He just threw it at me! I glared over at his laughing figure before insisting he took it back.

"You better just wear it, Ariana. Kili can be quite stubborn." Fili called over his shoulder with a smirk. My glare didn't lessen at that statement. It was quite clear he wasn't going to take it back any time soon. With a huff I draped the wet cloak over my shoulders and relished in the remaining heat that lingered. I murmured a thank you before focussing on the conversation that Bilbo and Gandalf were having about the other wizards.

It was nearing the middle of the afternoon when the rain stopped. I nearly cried in relief. The sun shone down brightly on all of us, making it appear that it never rained. My hair dried in tangly knots which was quite irritating. In the end I had put in a messy bun at the back of my head.

We reached a burned down farm when Thorin called out that we would settle here for the night, "We'll stay here for the night. Fili, Kili, look after the ponies and make sure you stay with them. Oin, Gloin, get a fire going."

"Do you intend to fall off your pony again or will you accept my help?" I looked down to find Kili giving me a teasing grin.

"Actually," I wanted to say that I can manage but last time I nearly broke my ankle by letting my pride get the best of me. I hesitated before heaving out a sigh and muttering, "Yes."

It was clear that he was quite amused at me while he held out his arms. A cocky grin grew on his face as he held onto my waist and I held onto his shoulders. I rolled my eyes as he helped me down. I was quite aware of how warm his hands were.

Gandalf suddenly stormed past us grumbling, "-To seek the company of the only one around here who has any sense!"

"Lucky for you, I have quite a lot of sense!" I smirked widely, only to be ignored by the wizard and laughed at by a couple dwarves.

"With all due respect, no one understands your comments and puns most of the time." Fili replied with a grin before glancing over to his brother as if they shared an inside joke.

I glared at him, "The people back home will find my comments and puns funny. You're just too stupid to understand!"

Yes, I know that was a lame comeback. I know.

It was later on when I was helping Bombur prepare dinner was when I stubbed my toes against a rock and fell down. It tore a rip near my knee in my pants. It left me grumbling about how often I fall down. It left me trying to find someone who would have a sewing kit with them. My thoughts instantly went to Bilbo and I nearly ran to him begging.

"Oh, Bilbo, please tell me you have a sewing kit! Please!"

He chuckled at me before rummaging through his pack, "Ah, here it is! I wasn't too sure why I had brought it along, considering I'm a terrible sewer. I thought it would come in handy eventually!"

After thanking him a plentiful of times, I sat myself down beside him on a log to begin sewing the rip together. I couldn't fully concentrate on my sewing when I noted how tense and jittery Bilbo was. I commented him on that and he began telling me how anxious he was for Gandalf. After all, the wizard was his first friend on this trip, then shortly after, me. Still sewing, I comforted him and told him that Gandalf wouldn't easily leave it. It would have to be a lot more than a simple argument for him to leave us. It seemed to calm Bilbo down slightly.

"There! Perfect!" I cried out as I held my knee up to inspect my handiwork. The rip was now completely sealed together, leaving me feeling quite proud of myself.

"I see you're quite the seamstress, lass!" Bofur commented from the fire, where he was dishing out the food. Despite his commentary about the dragon, I enjoyed Bofur's company.

I grinned over to him while giving the sewing kit back to Bilbo, "I wouldn't call myself a seamstress, but I'm pretty good at it."

"Well the next time I rip something, I know who to go to now." It was at that moment when I finally felt useful for something. Now I wouldn't be labelled as the useless and clumsy girl. I was probably now labelled as the clumsy girl who can sew. That thought did not make me feel any better.

Standing to my feet, I walked off to find both Kili and Fili. Gandalf had told me that it was currently summer in Middle Earth, yet the evenings were slightly chilly. I shivered slightly before zippering my hoodie higher. Letting down my hair from my bun, I instantly felt warmer now that my neck was covered. The high grass tickled my calves as I walked through the area of where the ponies were. I noticed Kili, Fili and Bilbo walking around frantically which made my eyebrows furrow together.

"Are you guys up to something again?" I questioned accusingly as I raked my fingers through my hair. I snickered when the three of them jumped at my voice.

"We're not up to anything, but something else happened." Fili answered as I stood next to all three of them. My eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. If those two weren't up to something then what would it be? I glanced over to Bilbo to find him just as confused as I was. He kept trying to hand over bowls of stew to the two brothers, but they paid him no mind.

"What happened?" I asked unsurely not knowing why they were acting like this.

Kili looked over at me gravely, not like the mocking grave expression he wore last night, "Something happened to two ponies."

"Oh," My eyes swept over the ponies and then fell upon a fallen tree. It was clear that tree hadn't fallen naturally, but the looks of it, it seemed something had pushed it over. My eyes gazed deeper into the forest to find several other trees had been broken in half. Both of the brothers were trying to get Bilbo into getting the ponies back who seemed frightened of the idea. Poor guy. I ignored their conversation and squinted my eyes in the dark. Further into the forest was a flickering light that I nudged Fili and pointed, "There's a light over there."

Instantly Fili shot forwards and crouched behind a fallen log and Kili followed suit and dragged me with him. Not wanting to be left behind, Bilbo quickly followed us while balancing the soup bowls. Deep cackles echoed through the forest from the camp over there, making me tense at the horrid sound.

"What is it?" Bilbo asked the very question I was thinking.

"Trolls," Kili stated before leaping over the log to get closer to the creatures. Fili followed shortly after his brother which left me standing dumbly with Bilbo.

"Oh yes, let's go closer to the trolls. It sounds like a fine idea!" I mumbled sarcastically as I jumped over the log with my foot nearly catching on a branch. My eyes narrowed exasperatedly at Bilbo before calling out to him quietly, "Enough with the stew! Put it down!"

Bilbo hesitated before obeying my demand and left the bowls on the log before racing after us. I had only just reached Kili when my eyes widened at the sight of the enormous troll carrying more ponies. This was the first creature I saw from Middle Earth, and boy was it disgusting. It was then that this won't be the first I will come across a creature. Kili grabbed my wrist and yanked me down so I was hidden behind the tree with them.

"Well he's attractive," I grimaced sarcastically as we watched him retreat back to his camp. Kili and Fili shushed me before continuing to watch the troll.

Troll! In the dungeon! I suppressed a snort as I recalled the particular part in Harry Potter. It would be too much of a risk to laugh because the troll hear us. If we were in a different situation I wouldn't have held it in.

"He's got Myrtle and Minty!" Bilbo hissed frantically "We have to do something!"

I simply shook my head at the little exchange the brothers shared before nodding brightly, "Yes! You should! Mountain trolls are slow and stupid and you're so small! They'll never see you! It's perfectly safe! We'll be right behind you!"

Fili took the bowls from Bilbo's hands before urging him forwards, "If you run into trouble hoot twice like a barn owl and once like a brown owl!"

Fili pushed the poor Hobbit forwards before grabbing my arm and racing away quickly. Following close behind, Kili kept glancing over his shoulder as we ran.

"Are you sure this is a good idea to leave him with the trolls?" I asked frantically as I glanced over my shoulder.

Kili nodded his head affirmatively, "Yes, we're going to get Thorin to help."

"He'll be fine, he's small!" Fili reassured me, which wasn't very reassuring in the first place. I bit my lip to prevent the hysterical breathing I was bond to do. Since I was less fit than both brothers I ran behind which was a good thing too. I didn't want them to see the frightened expression I knew I wore.

"Thorin!" They shouted as we barged into camp, instantly gaining everyone's attention. Thorin stood to his feet once he saw our heavy breathing and noticed something was wrong.

"What is it? Where's the Halfling?"

"Four of our ponies were taken by trolls. Master Baggins went to retrieve them!" Kili explained out of breath.

"Mountain trolls? Are you sure?" Thorin hissed before Balin hurried everyone to their feet before anyone could say another word. I was pushed along with the group back towards the trolls. Please. No. Not today. Or any other day for that matter! My heart pounded in my chest as we ran back to the trolls.

Thorin quietly explained a quick plan to us while we crouched down near the camp, almost where we were earlier, "Kili, you go in to attack first then the rest of us will come in for an ambush. Girl, stay back and don't get in the way."

Normally I would sass back and demand that I would fight, but at the moment I was too terrified to do anything. Nodding my head, I hid closer behind a tree so I was securely hidden. My hands fiddled with my sleeves as I waited anxiously behind the tree. Kili then jumped out of our hiding spot to attack first. Fili placed a hand on my shoulder before nodding comfortingly at me.

"Here, take this. At least you'll have something to protect you with." A decently sized dagger was handed to me, making me look up in shock to him. I barely had time to thank him before he jumped out with the others to attack the trolls. Suddenly I was left alone clutching a dagger to my chest. I winced every time I heard a cry, which was quite often. I was conflicted. I wanted to help, but I also wanted to curl up in a ball and hide.

God, did I ever feel like a damsel in distress.

I crouched behind the tree for several more minutes until I heard someone shout out to Bilbo. Quickly, I scrambled to cautiously peek behind the tree and my eyes widened at the sight. Two large trolls each held onto Bilbo's limps and threatened to rip him apart if the dwarves didn't back down. My hand flew up to my mouth at the sight of the poor Hobbit. As much as I wanted to do something, I knew I couldn't. These trolls were far too strong and their limbs were as thick as trees! I watched in horror as the trolls stuffed half the dwarves into sacks while slowly began to roast the others over the fire.

Making up my mind, I slowly crouched through the forest towards the sacked dwarves. I bit my lip in anxiety. I knew better than to step into the light so I kept in the shadows. It was only a minute or two but it felt like hours as I continuously to question myself as to what I was doing. Adrenaline rushed through my body as I crouched behind the boulder that the dwarves were piled against. Keeping low to the ground, I peeked out to find that the trolls were arguing about different ways to eat the dwarves. My gaze swept towards the closest dwarf and I wanted to scream out in frustration. Of course it would be the dwarf that hated me the most.

With my hood up, I crawled towards him as quiet as I could with Fili's dagger in my hand. I tapped his head secretly and his head cautiously looked upwards to meet my gaze. I couldn't tell if he was angry or relieved at my appearance. Was he angry that I disobeyed orders? Or was he relieved that I came to help them escape? I put a finger to my lips before quietly going to cut the ropes. I cursed under my breath at the thick ropes that tied him together.

It didn't take very long for one troll to spot me because he was impatient and wanted to eat the dwarves whole.

"What's that over there? It's trying to help the dwarves escape!"

I was not proud at the squeak that came out of my mouth from being caught.

Another troll let out an enraged yell before storming towards me, making me yelp and run from him. Here would be the part in a movie where I gracefully dodge and fight against the dwarves with dramatic music playing in the background.

Well, I was far from graceful and there was no dramatic music. Each of the trolls tried to grab me which ended up in my twirling oddly or crouching low to avoid them. The dwarves shouted at me but I couldn't hear them over the trolls' yells and my panting. Like Bilbo I was small, but far from nimble. I ended up tripping and stumbling everywhere while trying to dodging their hands. As I avoided the nasty things I couldn't stop talking without making much sense, "Ouch. Ack! No. Can you not? Yeah, no. Will you stop? Ah! OW!"

I was backing away from them and my foot got caught in the dwarves' weapons and made me fall ungracefully on my butt. Thinking quickly I grabbed the nearest sword and wildly swung it in front of me for incoming troll to back off. Here would be the time where my heroic skills will magically appear and I will save everyone. That didn't happen. It surprised me when I swung so hard in the open space in front of me that the force of the swing left me spinning around stupidly with a yelp. The sword dropped from my hand and I scrambled frantically for another weapon. It happened to be Kili's bow and arrows.

I shoved down the uncertainty and loaded the bow while backing away from the angered troll. It wasn't too pleased that I interrupted their meal time. Keeping one eye shut I aimed the arrow for the troll's face while continuing to back away. I released the moment I tripped over a large tree stump. The arrow landed right between his eyes and I gagged, "That was not where I was aiming for."

During my distracted moment a troll grabbed me by the legs and dangled me upside down. My stomach flipped at the moment.

"It's a lady dwarf!" The troll exclaimed surprised as he held me close to his face. I leaned back from the horrid stench on him before launching my fist out in an attempt to let me go. My fist collided with his eyeball and the troll instantly dropped me. Stars danced in my vision the moment I collided with the hard ground. The wind was knocked out of me and I struggled to breathe. Pain shot through my side as I laid there on the ground.

I was picked up once again by another nasty troll. His hand easily wrapped around my torso which caused me more pain, "A feisty one, eh? I love the taste of ladies, especially the soft and squishy parts!"

"She'll be dessert." The troll roasting the dwarves cackled with delight.

"No! I'll just eat her now!" The troll's impatience got the better of him and he dangled me over his mouth. I moaned in pain and disgust. My stomach threatened to release everything I ate today from being tossed around. Just get this over with already.

"Wait!" My gaze slowly swept over to where Bilbo stood in his sack, or what I could make out of him with the stars dancing in my vision. "You're making a terrible mistake!"

"You can't reason with them! They're half-wits!" Dori cried out from his spot above the fire.

"Half-wits?" Bofur exclaimed from beside him, "Then what does that make us?"

"I meant with the, er, seasoning!" Bilbo exclaimed as he began hopping towards the other trolls. The disgusting, oversized potatoes were preparing their feast. I never thought that becoming a dessert for trolls would be the way I would die.

The troll that I shot between the head stepped closer to Bilbo suspiciously, "What 'bout the seasoning?"

Bilbo continued on, almost resentfully, "I mean, have you smelt then? You're going to need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot!"

At Bilbo's comment the troll holding me brought me closer to his large, boiling nose and took a sniff at me, "Eh, this one don't smell!"

My head pounded from being held upside down for a long time. I moaned at the sudden movements of the troll and sucked in a sharp breath.

"You don't have to pay any attention to her right now, considering she's dessert after all!" I was too busy focusing on the throbbing pain in my chest to retort.

I had tried to move my head to circulate the blood flow better but the troll only gripped me harder. Bilbo had told the dwarves that the secret to cooking dwarf is by skinning them first. As expected it caused instant protesting from the dwarves. The leader of the trolls asked the one I shot with an arrow to bring the filleting knife. My eyes widened in fear and looked on to the other dwarves. I caught Kili's frantic eyes before I got swung around by the troll once more.

The troll that roasted the dwarves scoffed loudly, "What a loud o' rubbish! I've eaten plenty with skins on! Stuff 'em, I say, boots and all!"

The troll that held me grinned wickedly before holding me over his mouth once again. I sucked in another sharp breath at the sudden grip he added, "He's right, nothing wrong with a bit of raw lady dwarf!"

"No! Not-Not that one! She's infected!" Bilbo cried making me shout out in anger. Infected? What is he talking about?

"W-what the fuck?" I cried as glared menacingly down at the Hobbit. The dwarves, trolls and Hobbit all glanced my way when I cursed.

"She... she has worms… in her tubes!"

A scream left my mouth as the troll suddenly flung me towards the other dwarves to avoid me. I landed onto Kili, who grunted in pain from the sudden impact. I practically laid on top of the dwarven prince with my head in the crook of his neck. Normally I would have blushed if it was a different situation. Now that I was released I took in a shuddering breath before laying limp against him.

"Are you okay?" Kili asked me worriedly and I felt his breath tickle my neck which I shivered from the feeling.

"J-just peachy." I breathed out, trying to regulate both my breathing and blood flow.

"In fact they all do! They're infested with parasites, it's a terrible business. I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't!" Bilbo frantically explained, trying to persuade the trolls that we were ill. Ding. Bilbo's trying to save our hides not trade us in!

"We don't have parasites!" Kili shouted enraged thinking that Bilbo's gone insane, "You have parasites!"

"You don't know what you're talking about lad!"

"We do not-"

Thorin, who had just caught on like I did, gave Kili a swift kick to shut up. The entire group fell silent and exchanged a glance. It was only then that the dwarves had caught on.

"I got parasites a big as my arm!"

"I got parasite! I got huge parasites! I got the biggest parasites!"

"We are riddled with parasites!"

"Yes, yes we are!"

I rolled my eyes at how over-dramatic they were. It was a good thing my face was hidden because the trolls would see my amused face. With two hands pressed to Kili's chest, I slowly and painfully pushed myself into a sitting position. There was a sharp pain in my chest that made me suck in a deep breath and hold a hand to my chest.

Suddenly there was a booming voice that echoed, "The dawn will take you all!"

We all glanced up to find Gandalf standing strongly on top of a boulder. The wizard brought his staff above his head before slamming it down on the boulder, cleanly cutting it in half. My hand swung up to cover my eyes from the blinding sun. The three trolls began screeching and withering in pain as their flesh began to harden. Soon enough they were froze on the spot and were never to move again.

It was all silent for a moment before Kili snorted cheekily, "I suppose one could say that they were scared stiff!"

-x-

"That was very brave of you, lass!" Gloin praised as we began our way to the troll cave after gathering our supplies. Many of the dwarves had asked if I was alright, which I just waved off with a grin. They believed me even though I had lied. There was an piercing pain if I took a deep breath in my chest, so I took a short ones. I grinned over at the ginger haired dwarf.

"It was not brave, it was reckless." Thorin hissed as he stormed passed us.

Anger boiled within me as I glared at his retreating form. The nerve of the damned dwarf! I tried to save his damned arse and here he goes insulting me? With clenched teeth I went to stalk after him but a firm hand on my shoulder stopped me. I glanced up to find Fili shaking his head warningly at me. There was a playful glint in his bright eyes that stopped me from taking my anger on him.

"Though, we're going to have to teach you how to wield a sword. It was evident during your fight earlier." Fili grinned teasingly as he fell into step with me. It easily took my attention away from Uncle Grumpy-pants over there. The memory of me swinging the sword so hard that it made me lose balance and twirl stupidly from the force made me snort.

I made a face at him before laughing, "I won't even deny that one!"

"And shooting for that matter!" Kili exclaimed as he flung an arm over my shoulder with a snort, "You're supposed to keep both eyes open when you shoot!"

"Okay! I get it that I'm bad at fighting! No need to rub it in!" I glared at the two brothers, who merely laughed at me. I sighed comically before a sharp pain dug into my side, making me suck in a sharp breath. My hand flung up and held the side of my ribs.

Kili instantly stopped laughing at looked down at me worriedly, "I thought you said you were alright!"

"I am alright. I'm just sore." I insisted brightly to reassure him. Again, I lied. Wow I'm doing a bunch of lying lately. I shoved away the guilt for now and focussed on the troll cave we were nearing. They didn't believe me! It was evident in their eyes. I thought I was a good actress though! Those sneaky arses. To avoid talking about the matter further, I decided to switch the topic with a smirk, "You know, Kili, you have the lamest comebacks I have ever heard."

Kili mockingly held a hand to his chest mockingly, "What? That's absurd! I have great comebacks!"

"Oh really? We don't have parasites! You have parasites!" I imitated him in a childish and high pitched voice. My voice went back to normal as I playfully rolled my eyes, "Right, real mature."

Fili punched his brother's arm teasingly with a snicker, "She got you there, brother!"

By the time we reached the troll cave I nearly gagged at the stench that lingered near the entrance. Thorin had called out that Bilbo and I should stay outside, so we weren't in the way. I was put back into misery when Gandalf insisted that we came. Thorin merely scowled in my direction before walking in the cave. I threw a hopeless look over my shoulder to Kili and Fili before I was engulfed into the stench filled cave. My hand instantly pulled up my collar over my nose.

"What's that stench?" Bofur asked in disgust.

"It's a troll cave. Be careful of what you touch." Gandalf warned as we travelled deeper in the cave. He poked around with his large staff to be on the careful side.

"This has to be the most disgusting place I have ever been." I grumbled before eyeing the suspicious looking goo that covered walls. My eyes caught Kili's amused ones that practically screamed out that I was being a wuss.

Bilbo murmured a small and weak agreement as he too grimaced at the disgusting cave. Why are we even in here? I stayed close to Bilbo, who shared my disgust, after I seen the thick spider webs. Shivers ran down my spine at the thought of spiders large enough to make thick enough webs. I was complaining about the cave for nearly the entire time and nearly cried out in relief when Thorin called out that we were leaving.

"Thank god." I exclaimed as I quickly moved towards the entrance. The sooner I'm out of here, the happier I'm going to be. My happiness was cut short the moment my foot snagged onto a rock, letting me tumble to the ground. "No! Ew. This is disgusting! I'm dying. Ew."

I gagged once I pulled myself to my knees and curled my lip in disgust. I wanted to cry. This is too disgusting for me. A hand shot out in my vision and followed by a deep voice, "Need help?"

"Oh my god, yes! I am thoroughly done with this cave! It was bad enough that I even had to step inside of here and now it's worse because I fell! I fell because of this stupid rock!" I rambled on angrily as I grasped Kili's hand. My glare focussed onto the rock that was to blame but disappeared once I got a better look at what was in front of me. Something silver shone behind the dirt. I shared a confused glance with Kili before letting go of his hand to pick it up. I moved the dirt away, grudgingly mind you, and blinked. It was a sword.

"A sword?" I asked dumbly as I picked it up. Kili hauled me to my feet while I inspected it.

"Kili, Ariana, hurry up." Gandalf called out from the entrance of the cave which startled me. Not wanting to stay in the cave any further, Kili and I quickly made our way out of the cave. I smiled briefly at the wizard before curiously looking back at the sword still in my hands. It felt odd. Normally, when you pick up an object you wouldn't think too much of the meaning and feeling of it. Today was different.

I shivered as I felt Gandalf's intense gaze on me and looked up at the man to find him staring mysteriously at the sword in my hands. Gandalf tore his gaze from my sword and looked up at me expectantly, "May I inspect your sword?"

"Uh, go for it." I wasn't the type of person who talks formally and I'm sure the company fully realize this by now.

I handed the lightweight sword over to the wizard and watched as he inspected the sword. It was hard to read the wizard's expressions at any given time, and this time was no exception.

"Where did you come across this sword?" Gandalf asked me as he pulled the sword from its sheath.

My shoulders shrugged carelessly as I threw my hair up in a ponytail, "I tripped on it."

The wizard was silent for a moment as he continued to stare at the blade in his hands. "Do you mind if I held on to this for the time being, until I can inspect it further?"

"Yeah, it's no biggie." At his confused stare from my reply, I sighed before dismissing it. I kept forgetting that no one understood the way I talk sometimes. We were interrupted when Thorin shouted from where the group stood,

"Something's coming!"

* * *

**_Sorrysorrysorry! I have been awfully busy with transferring to a new school, new semester, homework and family issues. But during these busy times I managed to write a new chapter! c:_**


	5. Disneyworld

It effectively caught everyone's attention and they all pulled out their weapons in an instant. Gandalf raced from my side to stand guard by the other dwarves, making me stand defenceless with Bilbo. I shot the Hobbit a hopeless and slightly terrified look. I blinked stupidly as he pulled out a short sword from his belt that was securely hidden by his waistcoat. Even Bilbo has a weapon! My hands instantly patted down my body in search of something to defend myself with. Fili's dagger. I had shoved it into my pocket during the troll fight.

I groaned at the sight of such of small weapon. At least it was better than being defenceless, I guess. Standing at the back of the group, I stood with my hand clutching the dagger. Did I ever feel useless.

There was something coming. Something big. The leaves rustled and twigs snapped harshly at the figure got closer. The group stood tense on the balls of their feet waiting to attack the oncoming person. My teeth bit down on my lip in anxiety and fear. Deep down I was still shaken from my experience with the trolls. I was not ready for another creature to try to eat me.

The rustling of the leaves grew louder and I narrowed my eyes in the direction of where it was coming. Suddenly it came bursting out of the trees. I blinked stupidly in surprise. I couldn't but commenting at the sight of the fellow, "A hobo."

The aged man was a sight to behold. His greying hair was untamed and knotted in several areas but what really caught your eye was the dried bird poop. I grimaced at the sight. His hat was similar to Bofur's yet dirtier and worn out, if that was possible. The aged man was perched upon a wooden sled that was pulled by several large rabbits. The sight of rabbits warmed my heart slightly because it was another thing that was similar to home.

I jumped at Gandalf's sudden friendly outburst, "Radagast! Radagast the Brown!"

Okay, so this is the wizard Gandalf had mentioned- not a hobo. Maybe he was. A wizard-hobo.

Gandalf put away his sword and the rest of the company hesitantly followed suit. Shrugging my shoulders carelessly I lowered the dagger. If Gandalf thought we were in no danger then I believe him.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Gandalf asked with his eyes narrowed down suspiciously. He more or less sounded like an older brother scolding his younger brother.

"I was looking for you, Gandalf!" Radagast explained with a higher pitched voice. The brown wizard sounded exactly like a younger brother who was trying to get himself out of trouble. A snort left my mouth. I waved off the odd looks I received from Kili and Fili and focussed on the conversation.

Radagast looked up at Gandalf with wide serious eyes, "Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong."

"Yes?" Gandalf pressed.

When the brown wizard opened his mouth to speak, nothing came out. Radagast stared blankly at the older wizard. Ah, I knew what was happening. He had apparently lost his train of thought, something that I do quite often.

Radagast grew troubled at his loss of thoughts, "Just give me a minute."

I leaned over towards Kili with a smirk, "Or two."

Kili muffled his chuckles before retorting in the same whispered voice, "Or ten."

"You know what? Let's give him an hour." An amused grin grew on my face as I snorted. Kili failed terribly at muffling his chuckles before biting his lip when Thorin threw him a stern glare.

Radagast whined as he looked around frantically, trying to regain his thoughts. It just proved my point further about him being similar to a child. "Oh! I just had a thought and now I lost it! It's right there, on the tip of my tongue!"

"Oh! It's not a thought at all! It's a little-"

I gagged loudly at the sight of an insect coming out of his mouth. A wave of sickness washed over me as I watched Gandalf pick it out.

"Y-you know what? This is too nasty for my liking. I'm just gonna, you know, leave." I said sickly to whoever cared about where I was going. A few dwarves, including Kili and Fili, turned to me with both curiosity and concern. I held up a hand and walked away from the area.

Shivers ran down my spine at remembering what Radagast did. I plopped myself down on a large boulder with my lip curled in disgust. That had to be the most sickening thing I have ever seen in my life. I could watch several nasty things on TV and I wouldn't get as sick. This, what I just seen, had to be the worst.

Minutes passed and the dwarves began making their way back to where our packs were, which was not too far from where I sat.

"You okay?"

I yelped in surprise at the sudden voice and nearly toppled off the rock. After I quickly regained my balance, I quickly whipped my head to face whoever spoke. When I did that my ponytail flew around and whipped me in my face. My eyes narrowed to find a smirking Kili standing behind me.

"You're an ass, you know that? I could have fallen and, _knowing me_, broke something!" I exclaimed with my eyes glaring at the dwarf. It just made him smirk wider.

"But you didn't fall." He replied as he sat himself beside me.

"But I could've! And it would be your entire fault" I retorted with my cheeks puffed out before shivering uncomfortably, "And to answer your question, and no I'm not okay. That man just pulling a bug out of his mouth for god's sake! It had to be the nastiest thing I ever seen in my entire life!"

He simply shook his head and laughed at me full heartedly. I playfully scowled at him for laughing before twiddling the dagger at him. Oh. The dagger! I quickly excused myself to go find Fili, who sat at the base of the tree and was sharpening his sword.

"Hey, Fili," I greeted casually as I plopped myself down next to him.

He glanced over at me with a smile, "Hey, what brings you over here?"

"Well, here's you dagger. I forgot to give it back to you after the troll incident! So, here ya go!" I explained as I held out the dagger for him. I wanted to pout. Now I was going to be fully defenceless. After the troll incident I now realize that I'm going to need a weapon and actually learn how to wield one!

His blue eyes glanced down at the dagger then back up at my face. Fili began shaking his head with a small smile on his face, "No, you have it."

"Wait what? No, this is yours!" I protested instantly and held it out further for him to take.

"And I'm giving it to you." Fili insisted as he pushed it gently back into my hand.

Raising an eyebrow at the dwarf, I shook my head and held it out further, "I can't take this, it's yours!"

"I have plenty more and I'd rather you have it." Fili replied and pushing it back towards me.

My eyebrows furrowed together as I stared at him, "Why?"

"To protect yourself." He said it so simply and casually that made me raise both my eyebrows. Yes, I would like to protect myself somehow but I can't just take it.

"Are you sure?" I asked once more, to be on the safe side.

Pushing the dagger further away from him and towards me, Fili nodded his head, "Yes, I am."

"Er, thank you then!" A smile grew on my face before stopping, "Wait. Where will I keep it?"

"In your boot or your pocket."

Biting my lip in concentration, I managed to fit the dagger snuggly in my combat boot. Safe to say I nearly impaled my calf a couple times, but hey,_ I did it!_ I let out an excited whoop of joy before grinning sheepishly when I realize that nearby dwarves stared at me with both amusement and curiosity.

I was about to explain to them about my accomplishment when a loud howl nearby cut me off. What in the world was that? My eyes widened as I turned towards the direction it came in. It sounded suspiciously like a wolf but deeper. Fili quickly stood up in alert with his sword at the ready- like the others.

"Was that a wolf?" Bilbo quickly asked as he swiftly stood beside an alert Bofur. Alright so there are wolves in this world. Great. "Are there- are there wolves out there?"

"A wolf? No, that's not a wolf-"

A low growl from behind us made the entire company freeze. They all spun around to face in my direction and stare at something behind me. My eyes widened as I froze in my spot. Fear swelled in my stomach and I couldn't help but think of this as a horror movie,

"Ah, _shit_. It's right behind me, isn't it?"

No one answered me as they continued to stare at the creature behind me. A scream erupted from my throat as I was suddenly pulled out of the way. I looked up to find Gloin pulling me to my feet and I glanced back at where I was just sitting. If Gloin hadn't moved any slower than I would be a lovely piece of crushed flesh. The creature prowled towards its target growling- which happened to be Thorin. I watched in both awe and fear as Thorin quickly thrashed his sword out and stabbed the creature with his sword.

Gloin quickly lead me to the other side of Thorin as he finished off the creature. Another growl from behind us made us all jump.

"_Shit. shit. shit._"

I repeated horrified as another creature bounded towards with quickly with his eyes locked onto mine. My feet began backing up quickly as the creature sprinted towards me. An arrow was shot into his side, making it fall instantly dead and tumble to the ground. Kili. As I backed up from the oncoming dead creature, I tumbled to the ground from a stupid rock.

"Ariana!" I heard Kili shout as he ran to my side. I accepted his help as he hauled me to my feet, "Are you okay?"

I stared up in his chocolate brown eyes still in shock, "J-just fine."

"Warg scouts!" Thorin shouted after the two creatures were killed, "Which means an Orc pack is not far behind!"

"Orc pack?" Bilbo and I stuttered at the same time before exchanging a terrified glance. He was in the same boat as I was. Never in my life had I neither fought nor seen an orc- let alone an entire pack! I swallowed thickly as I held onto Kili's sleeve in fear. It was then I realized how dangerous this quest was.

Gandalf stalked up to Thorin urgently with seriousness filling his eyes, "Who did you tell about your quest- besides your kin?"

"No one." Thorin answered quickly.

"Who did you tell?" Gandalf demanded angrily, clearly not believing the dwarf king. My danced flickered between the two anxiously.

"No one, I swear!" Thorin insisted as he stared at the aged wizard troubled, "What in Durin's name is going on?"

Gandalf heaved out a huff as he quickly glanced around the surroundings, "You are being hunted."

I bit down on my lip. Hard. I swear one of these days I will accidentally bite my lip open.

"We have to get out of here!" Dwalin exclaimed with an urgent huff.

Ori and Bifur suddenly came rushing into our small area frantically, "We can't! We have no ponies! They bolted!"

I chuckled humorlessly, "How convenient."

It was silent for a moment for Radagast suddenly spoke up, "I'll draw them off."

Everyone stopped and stared up at the wizard in disbelief. The sneaky and sly look on the wizard's face set me on edge. What in the world is he up to?

Gandalf, with a roll of his eyes, turned around to scold Radagast, "These are Gundabad Wargs. They will outrun you."

I nearly belted out in laughter as Radagast smirked and clutched his staff sassily, "These are Rhosgobel Rabbits. I'd _like_ to see them try."

He was officially my new best friend, though he just didn't know it yet. Whoever gives Gandalf sass, like myself, is my best friend. From what I've seen, not too many gives Gandalf sass.

* * *

At this moment I really wished I was more fit. I am really starting to regret eating junk food than going to the gym. The moment Radagast took off on his rabbit sleigh we grabbed our packs and ran. Gandalf lead the way to where who knows where. I continued to ask where we were, only to be rudely asked to shut up. We had gotten to a wide open field covered by large boulders, large bushes and uneven ground. Normally I would have refused to run through there but the constant growling and howls nearby kept me going.

I flailed my arms around as I ran in an effort to keep my balance on the uneven ground and I panted, "Guys. Guys. Guys. I'm gonna fall. Yep. I just know that I'll-"

I fell.

A yelp escaped me as I tumbled to the ground. I groaned as my face skidded across a nice area covered in dirt and pebbles. With an outstretched hand towards the dwarves who glanced back at me, I called out dramatically, "_Go on without me!_ Oh, who am I kidding? Man down! Er, woman down!"

I felt two arms go underneath my armpits and heaved me to my feet. Kili's deep, laboured voice panted near my ear, "Don't be ridiculous, we're not leaving without you."

"Thank _god_! I seriously thought you all were gonna leave me there!" I cried out as he pulled me along towards the others. Gandalf continuously called out to everyone to hurry up.

I found myself running beside Bilbo who didn't seem better off than I did. He stumbled against a bush and I shot out my hand to steady him. He shot me a pained grin, which I returned.

Many times did I stumble stupidly and quickly return to my feet. The constant movements made the side of my ribs ache painfully. I gritted my teeth at the pain before ignoring it. Of course we had to run through the most uneven field in the world! I mean, could this get any worse?

I had to speak up.

We nearly ran into an enormous pack of orcs and wargs several times. Laboured breaths and howls were all I heard from all around me. We're not going to make it out of here. I bit down on my lip, remembering when I never had to run like this ever. Never in my life had I thought I would be running from a pack of rabid creatures. Sure I had the occasional paranoia where a bear would find me in the woods, but never fully thought about it.

The pack that I was given to carry was very heavy and clumsy. It made me wobble with every step I ran, making me look like I was drunk. My legs threatened to give out but I endured it somehow. I knew eventually that my legs would eventually give out. I just didn't know exactly when.

Thorin motioned to us to hide behind a small cliff which we quickly did. I leant on my knees to attempt to regain my breath. At that moment I was thankful I wasn't asthmatic like my sister was. A sudden low growl from on top of the cliff made us all freeze. I exchanged a terrified look with both Kili and Fili. Thorin quickly nodded to Kili, silently telling him to shoot them down. Fili grabbed my sleeve and swiftly pulled me towards him so I was out of the way. As I crouched, I pulled out my dagger for some sense of protection

Kili released two arrows in rapid succession, making me stare in awe at his swift moves. The beast and rider fell dead in front of us with a low howl that echoed throughout the large valley. I winced from both the howl and Dwalin and Bifur finishing off the creatures. You could hear bones crushing and snapping from Dwalin's and Bifur's weapons.

The wounded cries of the creatures caught their companion's attention. Several more cries and howls pounded towards us making me groan, "_Ah shit_."

"Move!" Gandalf cried out urgently, "_Run_!"

My heart pounded against my ribcage threatening to explode. Well, not really, but it felt like it. I continued to clumsily sway because of the heavy packs I was carrying. My chest heaved with every uneven pant I took. I was a sweaty and dirty mess at the moment. Thorin stopped us so we could find the locations of the wargs that were quickly gaining on us.

"There's more coming!" Kili cried out from the back of our group with his loaded bow in his hands. I hadn't even realized he left my side.

Thorin shouted urgently to his nephew, "Kili! Shoot them!"

The palms of my hands began to sweat as I gripped my dagger tightly. I heard Fili shout out that we were surrounded near Kili stood.

My head frantically whipped all around us and nearly groaned in defeat. It was true. We were surrounded. All of the company held their respective weapons in their hands while I awkwardly stood there in the middle of the company with my small dagger. If only Gandalf hadn't taken away that sword from me earlier! Even if I didn't know how to use it, I could have still fought with it!

Speaking of Gandalf, where was he? I called out loudly and quickly looked around the company for the wizard, "Gandalf? Where are you?!"

"He's abandoned us!"

That _fucking_ wizard. I am going to beat his ass for leaving us the next time I see him!

Anxiety overwhelmed me as I fearfully watched every direction that the wargs were coming in. I drew in a shaky breath as my gaze fell upon the members of the company. They all wore brave and determined expressions. Their expressions were so similar- it had to be a dwarf thing. I bit down on my lip as I watched Kili shoot arrow after arrow at the beasts. Eventually he'll run out and then what will he do? That stupid dwarf.

"This way, you fools!"

My first reaction was to yell back at the man, "Who the hell are you calling a fool?!"

I watched as each of the company members jumped or skidded behind the rock where Gandalf disappeared into. How weird. I was pulled out of my thoughts when a warg bounded towards us. A yelp escaped me as I watched it as it drew nearer. With a loud grunt, Thorin slashed it down with his newly attained sword.

"Hm, that's handy." I commented lightly as I watched the sword shine brightly against the sun.

Thorin whipped around to face me with a hard stare, "Get in the hole, girl!"

Anger boiled at me at his last comment, I sassily put my hands on my hips with gritted teeth, "_Excuse me?_ For the last time, my name isn't-"

A scream left my mouth as he snarled at me before grabbing me by my forearms as tossing me down the hole. I grunted in pain as I tumbled down the hole. Rocks jabbed harshly into my body as I fell. A pained groan left my lips as I laid there on the dirt ground. I'm definitely going to be sore after this.

Two large hands slipped under my armpits and hauled me to my feet, "Here you go, lass!"

I looked up to find Bofur smiling kindly down at me. Grinning back up at the dwarf, I nodded my head in thanks, "Ah, thanks Bofur!"

"Are you alright?" Bofur asked as he checked me over for any injuries. I always liked Bofur's company; he was quite a kind man, erm, dwarf. Bofur often told me stories of when Bombur, Bifur and he were younger and often played tricks on each other.

"I'm fine, I just wish that I hadn't been _thrown_ into here!" I grumbled angrily as I rubbed my forearms. Not too long after I had spoken, both Kili and Thorin slide down the hole. I walked over to the younger dwarf who still lay on the ground and grasped his hands to haul him to his feet. Kili smiled down at me and was about to say something when a loud horn cut him off.

We all froze in our spots at several different sounds the echoed above ground. There were several different shouts and grunts that corresponded with swords and arrow sounds. I don't know about the others but it was quite_ awkward_. I tapped my thumbs against my hands in awkwardness as the fight continued.

An orc suddenly tumbled down in our hole at my feet. I gagged at the stench that lingered off the orc. It was dead. A slim arrow was dug deeply into his neck with black blood oozing from the wound.

I squeezed my eyes shut at my stomach threatening to release itself, "That is disgusting. Yeah, _no_, not for me."

From beside me, I felt Kili pat my back in sympathy yet I could practically feel the mockery in his patting. I gagged once more at the repulsive sound of the arrow being ripped from the creature's throat.

"_Elves_," Thorin hissed angrily before throwing the arrow onto the ground. You could feel the anger that Thorin emitted as he glared harshly at Gandalf.

I jumped at Dwalin's sudden outburst from deeper in the cave, "I cannot see where the path leads. Do we follow it or not?"

Pushing past several dwarves, Bofur nodded enthusiastically as he made his way over to the larger dwarf. Several dwarves threw a swift glance over their shoulders at the cave entrance before hurrying after the two dwarves.

"I think that would be wise," Gandalf stated with a nod of his head as he caught my curious gaze. I watched as he followed the dwarven company and Bilbo without delay. I didn't hesitate to follow him, the farther away from that nasty dead orc- the better.

"Let's go," I urged Kili to follow me as I walked closer to the rocky interior. Motioning with my hand, I slowly got impatient as I was well aware of the others who were getting farther away. He nodded briefly before eyeing my cheek.

It took me a moment to realize how dirty my face was. I covered my cheek that was caked in dirt before grasping his hand and pulling him forwards. Man, his hand was huge compared to mine! We trudged our way through the narrow path between the two cliffs as I spoke, "Yes, I _know_ I'm filthy. You don't have to openly stare at me like that!"

"I wasn't staring!" He protested behind me, "I was, uh, _observing_!"

"That makes it sound _worse_! It makes you sound like a creep!" I retorted with a sigh. With my free hand I scaled my hand across the rock beside me. Exhaustion slowly began to creep up on me during our somewhat calm time. I haven't had sleep in such a long time...

"I'm not a creep!" Kili protested instantly.

I laughed tiredly, "You keep telling yourself that, bud."

The two of us quickly caught up to the other dwarves with ease. The larger dwarves, like Bombur, seemed to have trouble squeezing through the narrow path. Not only did their size give them trouble, but also the clumsy bags we carried. Luckily I didn't have too much trouble. Many times did I yawn and pout about wanting to sleep in my comfy bed back home. It felt as though I could sleep for eternity. I hummed a small, upbeat tune to keep me distracted from my roaring stomach and exhaustion.

As we continued down the long, narrow path a calming sensation had overcome me. All of my worries during the past few weeks that I've somehow ended up on Middle Earth seemed to wash away for the time being. I smiled blissfully with a content sigh. I haven't felt this calm and relaxed in ages.

We continued travelling for another hour of endless walking through the rocky path until it slowly began to open up. The dwarves ahead let out awed gasps and sighs. I exchanged an anxious and confused glance with Kili over my shoulder as we made our way out of the pathway.

"Holy shit," I breathed out in awe once I seen what made everyone astonished. In a wide valley was a beautiful city filled with white marble buildings. The setting sun bathed the white marble city in golden light. Waterfalls flowed off the cliffs in such grace. My mouth gaped at the beautiful sight. You could practically hear the angelic songs and harps playing. "Damn, I haven't seen such a beautiful place before in my entire life! The prettiest building I've seen was in _Disneyworld_! Cinderella's castle couldn't ever compare to this!"

It seemed I broke the content atmosphere as several dwarves turned around to stare at me in both confusion and unresponsive.

"Disney… World? What's that place?" Fili, the only one who seemed that could respond to my comments, asked uncertain.

I opened up my mouth to reply "Who hasn't heard of Disneyworld?!", but then I fully thought it out and realized that I'm in Middle Earth. An entirely different world from mine. Of course no one has heard of Disneyworld.

"Nevermind. It's just a place back home." I mumbled, not wanting to explain further because not only was I lazy but they wouldn't understand.

"The Valley of Imladris," Gandalf called out deeply from the back of the group, making me jump slightly, "In the common tongue, it is known as a different name."

The wizard fell silent as everyone soaked up the information. Apparently everyone else knew what the common name for this place was, but unfortunately I did not. I bit down on my lip to prevent myself from asking. If I asked what it was called then everyone would think I'm some idiotic moron- if they didn't think so already.

"Rivendell," Bilbo breathed out in longing. I let out a thankful sigh, now I didn't have to ask!

Rivendell. The name suited the place. I wonder who lives here.

"Here lies the Last Homely House East of the Sea." I swear, Gandalf could make a damn good tour guide.

My stomach roared and broke the content atmosphere, making heat rush to my face. I caught amused stares of the company who had hear my stomach, "What? I'm hungry! Do you think whoever lives there could give us some food?"

"No. We will not be going to Rivendell to seek food from the elves." Thorin hissed out angrily at the thought of the elves.

I rolled my head back with an annoyed and whiny moan, "But I'm hungry and I'm sure everyone else is! They just don't want to say it!"

Thorin rolled his icy blue eyes before storming up to Gandalf. When I was positive he wasn't looking, I childishly stuck out my tongue at the old dwarf.

"You're really going to get in trouble if you shall keep that up," Kili chuckled from beside me.

"I'm not scared of that _old man_," I replied stubbornly before leaning against the cliff wall. We were silent for a moment just taking in the scenery. I took in a deep breath and held it as I took in the beautiful scenery. If only I could live here forever.

"This must be handled with tact and charm. Thus, you will leave the talking to me." Gandalf explained as he walked through the crowd of dwarves. He began walking down a long, uneven path towards the bridge of Rivendell.

Lividly, Thorin stomped after the old wizard with a grumpy frown on his face. He reminded me of a child not getting what he wanted. I suppressed my laughter by biting hard on my lip. I felt a tug on my hand and glanced down to find Kili still holding my hand. Heat rushed to my cheeks as I quickly snapped my eyes up to meet his. With a nod in the direction of where the others were headed, Kili pulled me along to follow them.

I really hoped he didn't see my blush. I prayed my hands didn't get clammy, oh how embarrassing that would be. Heaving a sigh, I allowed him to tug me along.

* * *

Unlike the others whom were wary as they walked across the bridge, I waltzed right in. I understood why they acted as wary as they did. They were walking into 'enemy territory' but they could calm it down. I was nearly certain the elves wouldn't hurt us, well I hoped they wouldn't.

Unlike the others whom had their weapons in hand, I kept my dagger in my boot. I snickered at the dwarves' failed attempts to act rough and prideful. Their awe overpowered their pride and they curiously gazed across the beautiful city of Rivendell. Though I knew they wouldn't openly admit that Rivendell was absolutely gorgeous because their pride was far too great.

The company all stood on a large courtyard in front of a wide set of stairs. We all stood there taking in Rivendell. I looked over to Bilbo who curiously gazed up at the buildings in longing. A content smile was plastered onto his face.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I asked him with a wide smile on my face.

Bilbo nodded his head lightly, "Ah, yes. I have always read about The Last Homely House East of the Sea in my books at home!"

That caught my attention, "How many books do you have at your home?"

Bilbo seemed pleased that someone had been asking about his home, "Oh, I have plenty of my books in my study! I've been meaning to buy another bookshelf to store all of my books!"

I was about to reply to him when someone calmly shouted out a name, "Mithrandir!"

A tall man gracefully walked down the flight of marble stairs with a hand over his hand. A silver circlet was placed upon his dark hair. Pointed ears stood out from his dark hair. I blinked. That was an elf? What happened to Santa's little helpers? Why were those elves so tiny while this guy was extremely tall? I didn't voice out my astonished thoughts because I knew everyone would think I'm some odd ball.

The elf said something in a foreign language that made me quirk an eyebrow and lean over to Kili, "Uh, what's he saying?"

"Don't know. They're speaking in elven which I don't speak." Kili replied in a low tone. I shrugged off the matter.

"I must speak with Lord Elrond." Gandalf stated.

"My Lord Elrond is not here," The elf answered curtly.

Gandalf leaned against his staff, "Not here? Where is he?"

A sudden horn broke the conversation and made me jump at the suddenness. It was the same horn from earlier in the fields! I spun around on my heel to find more elves riding towards us on horses. The sun shined against their armour, making them look pretty cool. The elves showed no signs of stopping.

"Shit, they aren't going to stop, are they?" I asked no one in particular.

Thorin called out loudly, "Close ranks!"

I yelped when I was suddenly pulled towards the center of the small courtyard. I stumbled slightly and accidentally bumped into Thorin. I didn't dare look up at him. The elves rode into the courtyard and gracefully rode around us. They trapped us in a circle formation. My teeth bit down on my lip as I tensed up. I looked around me to find that Bilbo, Kili and Fili were all pushed into the middle of the formation as I was. It was then that made me realize how tall these dwarves were compared to me, I could _barely_ look over some of their shoulders! These elves and horses weren't making my situation any better. I felt rather small compared to everyone.

I pouted with groan, "I _hate_ being short. I'd rather be tall."

Beside me, Bilbo nodded his head in agreement before looking frantically up at the giant-like elves. I glared up at both Kili and Fili when they snorted in amusement at my comment.

"Gandalf!" An elf perched upon a horse called out with a friendly smile.

Gandalf smiled widely back at the elf, "Lord Elrond!"

I let out an irritated huff when they conversed in the foreign language from earlier. I absolutely hated it when someone spoke in front of me in a different language. It always made me feel as though they were insulting me.

"Strange for orcs to come so close to our borders. Something, or rather someone, has drawn them near." Lord Elrond stated calmly which made me fight back a sheepish grin. He knew that it was our fault.

"Ah, that may have been us." Gandalf answered apologetically as he turned to give Thorin a pointed look. The tall dwarf straightened out his shoulders and stepped in front of the company.

Lord Elrond was silent for a moment before stepping towards Thorin. I blinked repeatedly as the sun glared off his circlet. "Welcome Thorin, Son of Thrain."

"I do not believe we have met." Thorin replied coolly as he stared up at the tall elf. I wanted to throw my head back and groan loudly, which I didn't. My stomach was killing me. All I want is food, but no, we have to go through this overly long greeting.

I felt the eyes of several elves and suddenly felt self-conscious about my appearance. I let go of Kili's hand to rub off the dried dirt caking my cheek. I knew it wouldn't fully go away but it was better looking now. Awkwardly I had redone my sloppy ponytail into a much neater one. I began fretting over the wrinkles and stains on my clothes quietly.

"You look fine," Kili murmured quietly so no one could hear.

I frowned up at him and whispered back, "Easy for _you_ to say, you don't look _half_ as bad as me!"

"Maybe if you weren't as clumsy as you are then you wouldn't have so many stains on your clothes," Kili smirked knowingly at me.

I glared at him and whispered loudly at the dwarf, "It's not my fault!"

"No, Master Gloin, he is offering you food!" Gandalf scolded with a warning underlying his tone. I snapped back into the conversation. The company began discussing quietly over the offer before turning back to Lord Elrond.

Irritated by the dwarves' pride I stepped in front of the group to face Lord Elrond. Apparently he was the owner of this place and extremely wise as Gandalf mentioned to me earlier. I knew better than to be stupidly improper and impolite.

"_Please_ don't mind them, Lord Elrond. They're_ too prideful_ for their own good. We'll accept your offer!" I smiled politely at him and ignored the dwarves who grumbled at my comment.

The Lord of Rivendell stared at me with astonished eyes without saying a word. He wore an expressionless mask that made me uneasy and awkward. Lord Elrond then quirked an eyebrow, "Who may you be, My Lady?"

"Oh, erm, I'm Ariana! Ariana Thorne." I smiled awkwardly at him before quickly adding, "Uh, _at your service_!"

Lord Elrond seemed to be taking in me. That sounded awkward. He seemed to take in my personality and appearance silently. I let out an awkward chuckle and looked away.

"Gi suilon. Gi nathlam hi," Lord Elrond stated calmly with a hand over his heart and bowed slightly.

I bit down on my lip before letting out a small awkward chuckle, "Erm, I don't know what that _means_, but it's a pleasure to meet you!"

"The pleasure is mine," The elf replied with an amused quirk of his lips before motioning towards him, "Please follow me."

I glanced over my shoulder to the company before shrugging nonchalantly. Gandalf motioned us to follow and took the lead. Thorin followed shortly behind with the rest of us following quietly. Two elves quietly walked on either side of Lord Elrond. I frowned at the three elves. If only I could walk as gracefully as they could, it seemed as though they glided as they walked!

Lord Elrond spoke calmly as he led us down several hallways, "Your injuries shall be attended to after you all get bathed while dinner is being prepared. Vardamir shall escort the Master Dwarves to the male bathing suites. Linwe shall escort Lady Ariana to a room. If you shall need any injuries attended to, please ask one of these elves to assist you."

I died in happiness at the mention of a bath.

* * *

_**Weoo! New chapter! **_

_**Pleasepleaseplease let me know how this is going. I am nearly paranoid of how this story is coming along. I am in need of someone's opinion of how the development is coming along! I really hope this story isn't bad! :c**_


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